


Memory Filler

by EleventhMouse



Category: Mega Man Zero, Rockman Zero | Mega Man Zero
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Memory Loss, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Focus, tagging is hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:29:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25542127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EleventhMouse/pseuds/EleventhMouse
Summary: Sometimes a very dear story that ends too fast leaves you yearning for more, even if just a little. Zero, Ciel, X, and everyone else had ultimately managed to finish what they started, even if it came at a heavy price. But, what if it all lasted longer? How much more could they have said to each other? What happened in between missions and transitions? What if extra time allowed them to change the outcome of their struggles? What if they allowed themselves to feel more?This is a fic where things happen slower. The Mega Man Z series always felt a bit rushed, and some things just didn't have the time to happen. Aiming to answer all the previous questions, this is a work in progress that aims to cover all of the events of the 4 Z games in a more detailed and personal way while also changing the way some things happened.
Relationships: Ciel/Zero (Rockman)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 30





	1. Emergency Boot-up

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for the quality. This is more a proof of concept but I hope to get better with each subsequent chapter. I always wanted to see more of their interactions.

The atmosphere was tense, the energy jolt that the dusty reploid felt coursing through his whole body had been enough to reactivate him and, as far as he knew, he wasn’t injured; however, there were more pressing matters in front of him.

“Zero… Help me… Please…”

He did not know where he was, nor what was happening, the only thing he knew is that someone needed his help and that there were plenty of enemies ahead of him to keep him occupied for the time being.

He might have been confused on what was happening, specially since he felt as if there was a lot of missing information on his memory, but the thing that no event in the world could take away from him is how to fight. Despite only having the gun he picked from one of the deceased reploids that were guarding the pink-dressed blond human,it proved to be enough to eliminate whoever crossed his path while also making sure to fulfill his task of protecting the human.

After a couple minutes of dashing through every foe in his path, Zero was finally able to confirm the absence of any enemies left in their whereabouts. Despite being recently woken up and with a strange disorientation, Zero was able to finish them off quite easily, almost mechanically, but it was only until that moment of apparent peace that he started to process the situation, or rather, place he was in. 

Ciel, however, spends this time to hopelessly look for the way she arrived but finds nothing but a blocked off path that is too heavy even for the legendary reploid to lift.

Her mind, bouncing from one thing to another as always, begins to wander under the pressure of being sitting ducks for the Neo Arcadia forces to capture and dispose.

"What if there is no other way out? We came so far to find him and now that he is here we might not even be able to escape" she starts to worry.

"Will their deaths be in vain?" the images of Milan and Passy last moments flash through her mind, and trying as she could to shut them down, she also shuts her own eyes, oblivious to the danger that is below her. The ground begins to tremble, she is disoriented when opening her eyes and can't help but let out a scream when the ground gives up on holding her, making her closing them up again.

However, where she expected to feel the air brushing against her skin and clothes she now felt a warm but firm embrace until the fall was finished, without any of the pain she had expected. 

"Are you OK?" 

The monotone voice was her cue to open her eyes, and she couldn't help but be taken aback by the sight of the crimson reploid's face being obscured by the light that fell upon them from the place they had descended from. It took her a moment to answer with a nod after processing the image she had now imprinted on her memory, and it took her another one to fully realize the position she was in. Fortunately for her, Zero allowed her to descend from his arms moments before her face shined red. 

"Yes, yes, thank you" said shyly while taking a few steps forward. 

Zero was oblivious to the reasons that made Ciel so flustered, he only had dashed as fast as possible to catch her once he noticed the instability of the terrain she was on. All he knew is that his only purpose right now was to protect her at all costs, which is why he screamed at her to be careful when he noticed that there was a hostile reading behind the debris wall larger than the ones he saw before, but it was too late. 

A robotic hand smashed right trough the wall and grabbed Ciel before she could even make a move, incapacitating her without hurting her, but dragging her away. 

Zero dashed once again to catch up with the giant hand only to end up face to face with a large robot he had not seen yet. 

"Zero! No! Run! Your Buster is not powerful enough to damage a Golem!" 

Ciel knew full well that if she had been captured then they would take her back to Neo Arcadia, she was a human after all. To her, it was enough that Zero had been released and she was preparing herself as much as she could to be taken away. 

However, the silent reploid did not turn away, not only due to the corridor they came in being closed off, but because he wasn't gonna stand and watch as she was abducted, specially after seeing her face darkening and staring into the abyss as she resigned herself with a sad smile. There was not a single place his bullets did not bounce off the Golem, but that did not stop him, he kept dodging the lasers and the debris that fell over him in an effort to come up with something that would allow him to defeat such a intimidating foe. His only option was slowly chipping away the head armor until one of the many monitors the room had started to shine.

“USE THIS… ZERO…”

A sudden, distant but familiar voice spoke to him. Zero could not understand what was happening or who was also asking for his help, but there was a feeling of comfort emanating from the stranger's voice.

“Who are you!?” Asked the reploid

“HURRY… YOU HAVE TO… SAVE HER… DON’T WASTE TIME…”

A handle flew across the room from the monitor to the ceiling, and once Zero managed to dodge all the Golem's attacks to catch it, his body immediately tensed and adopted a different stance. There was something strangely familiar about the way the handle fit his hand, and he mechanically turned on the plasma blade that came with it. He had taken a little bit more time than usual to dodge one of the debris block that came from above, but with a single swipe of his arm the blade cut right through the metal and concrete that made the block, breaking it into a bunch of trash and scrap.

He didn't waste a single second pondering on what he had to do. Ciel, having watched his struggle from afar, telling him to run away while secretly hoping to break free, now saw how Zero dashed directly to the Golem's head. It might have been to try to sweep the crimson reploid away or to use the little human at hand as a shield, but the arm holding the scientist rushed to its head in an attempt to protect itself, to no avail. Zero's plasma blade slashed trough its whole body, from the head down, making every single system shut down in one go.

Ciel watched in awe as the golem dropped her to the ground after trying to use her as a shield. The thump her body made when it hit the floor hurt, but she did her best to get away from the Golem as fast as possible. She had only seen a couple of them be destroyed, but it was enough for her to know that those things tended to take their destroyers with them by exploding, her body ,however, was hurt by the strong hold the giant hand exerted over her and it took her more time than available to start fleeing, maybe her fate was to either belong to Neo Arcadia or perish at their forces. 

Zero had other plans.

After pulling away from the Golem’s body he quickly made sure to leap towards Ciel, and while it wasn’t enough to take both of them away from the explosion, his body made for a good enough shield for her to be safe. Ciel hesitated when attributing the warmness she felt in her body to the explosion rather than the reploid that was holding her.

There was a small moment of peace before Zero let her go, which felt like an eternity for the scientist. However, he was not gonna release her until he made sure that there were no more surprises surrounding them. Both of them eventually stood up.

“I can’t believe you were able to destroy a Golem… We were right. You ARE Zero, the legendary Reploid!” Ciel said after a brief moment of contemplation.

“Zero…? Is that my name?” The reploid answered, his gaze searching for answers in all the information he had. “Ugh, I can’t remember…” said with a heavy sigh, visibly pain at his inability to recall his own name.

“Just relax for a moment. You have hibernation sickness. I’m sorry for forcing you to wake up. And… Thank you for saving me.” Said Ciel, looking down to her feet, a little bit embarrassed by the fact that she was saved three times in a row. “My name is Ciel. I’m a scientist. Let’s go to our base, before more enemies arrive.”

“What if I’m not the Zero you were talking about?” the reploid asked with sincere preoccupation, if he of all people could not confirm his identity, who said anyone could?

“You proved to me that you are Zero by saving me from the Golem.” Ciel answered with firm determination. Maybe he hadn’t noticed, but to her, trying to save someone while knowing nothing about them multiple times spoke volumes of the nature of someone.

They both stared at each other for a little while, none of them knew what to say next. Ciel knew that he was the legendary reploid they spent so much time looking for, while Zero wasn’t sure about his own identity, but he also didn’t want to contradict her, there was something on her sincere words that made it much more believable. They eventually kept going after Zero started moving forward past Ciel, who followed him without a word spoken.

They eventually found what they were looking for in the ancient lab.

“We are in luck. The Trans Server is still active.We can now use it to go back the the Resistance Base, just do as I will and I’ll see you on the other side”

Ciel stepped on the Trans Server, carefully configured it’s settings so Zero wouldn’t have any problems transferring to the base and took a final look at the crimson reploid that was watching her carefully. She had finally found him, it was only natural for her to look at him to make sure it wasn’t a trick of her imagination or another cruel illusion.

Zero saw her disappear into a white beam of light that left the room. Still unsure about what he was doing, why was he doing it and who he was, he considered the possibility of being taken advantage of, after all, the only reason he had helped her was because she asked. However, these thoughts didn’t last, how could someone so seemingly inoffensive and trusting be plotting something evil? He knew that looks often deceived those who weren’t careful, but there was something about Ciel that made him lower his guard, even if it was a little. This made the reploid take some steps forward and use the Trans Server as Ciel had told him without worrying about what would be at the other side of the server.

No one expected them to become such important pieces of the conflicts they would be part of.

None of them expected to get too far in the path they were following.

Not Zero nor Ciel expected them to become so important for each other despite the many struggles they would face side by side. One, a reploid made to be a relentless weapon, the other, a human made to be the brightest mind.


	2. Setting Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero gets to explore a bit of the resistance's base. However, this will be short lived, as Ciel asks him to partake in the very first mission, of many, in order for them to push Neo Arcadia back.

The word “Resistance” described very well the forces Ciel was leading. While everyone was putting their best efforts into making as much as possible with as little available, the place they were in looked extremely ragged: There were cracks on every wall and even on the floor and the ceiling; one could usually see and feel tiny bits of the concrete fall every now and then; while they kept cleaning and making sure that the floor was clean, there still were places where the debris would accumulate until no one paid attention to it; the accumulated dust made sure that almost every 5 minutes someone sneezed; one could even hear most conversations through walls.

All in all, it was still their base and fight. Despite these conditions, the moral always had been decently high. Every member of the resistance knew that every effort they put on their fight was a step closer to being freed, even if the Neo Arcadian forces were stronger. Everyone also trusted Ciel, she might be a human, but it was one of the very few that ever showed reploids any kind of consideration.

Once both Ciel and Zero arrived at the base, Ciel told him that she needed to get some things in order before she could explain everything that was happening, suggesting him to familiarize himself with the surroundings and the resistance members. Zero was still not sure about what the whole deal of the resistance was, but since there was not a single threat he could identify, he chose to heed her words and start wandering.

“Woah! You ARE real!”

“Neo Arcadia will regret ever persecuting us.”

“Huh, no offense but, I thought you would look cooler.”

“I mean, I’m happy that we will finally be able to start fighting back, but, losing a bet is still losing.”

The different comments varied in enthusiasm, many people were visibly more motivated by his arrival than others, after all, what could a single reploid do against the entire Neo Arcadian army? Many of them saw their friends and companions helplessly fall one after another, and while they still were not giving up, it was clear who had the upper hand. Zero noticed how dire the situation was, and that alone made him ignore every hopeless comment that he could hear.

After roaming around for a bit, he ended up meeting a little girl that resembled Ciel. She ran towards Zero as soon as she saw him, never letting go of the doll she was carrying.

“Are you the Zero everyone was talking about?” The little girl asked, her eyes shining with hope as she stared at him waiting for his response.

“It seems that way,” Zero answered, still unsure about his identity.

Ignoring the vague response he made, the little girl presented herself.

“My name is Alouette! Did you know that Ciel gave me my name?” Said Alouette eagerly.

Zero couldn’t understand what kind of excitement originated from telling someone else one’s name, but he knew better than to question human emotions.

“Ciel also told me that you saved her back were she meet you,” Alouette said, hugging her doll even more, “Thank you very much, Zero.”

Zero wasn’t prepared for that. All he did was follow Ciel’s own instructions, there was nothing to thank for, and yet, the little human looked at him as if he had just saved the whole world. “She must really mean a lot for her” Zero thought for himself.

Alouette kept talking a little bit more with Zero, telling him about what Cyber-Elfs were, little tiny bits of trivia about herself, other members of the resistance and Ciel, and even complimented Zero’s long blond hair.

A while after that, Zero finally made his way back to the command room, where Ciel was waiting for him.

“Oh, I was gonna look for you” said Ciel,”I hope your exploration was pleasant.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Asked Zero.

“Well, there were many of us who didn’t really know whether or not to believe in the rumors of your existence and whereabouts. There is so much at stake that, had we failed in finding you, Neo Arcadia would have had little to nothing in their way to destroy us” Ciel said, with a worried look on her face, just thinking about that possibility made her uncomfortable.

“We are currently fighting Neo Arcadia’s forces” Explained Ciel, “The paradise that was made to live in peace with humans became a nightmare for the reploids that lived there, and even though reploids are stronger than humans, they stood no chance against the Guardians and even less against X.”

Zero’s eyes widened when Ciel mentioned X. “I’ve heard that name before.”

“According to the legends, both you and X fought together many years ago,However…” Said Ciel, her face darkening as she was about to continue “ the X that now rules Neo Arcadia decided that it was in the best human interests to eradicate reploids, since there has been an energy shortage for some time, that’s also why I’m trying to find a way to create an Energy System that will put an end to this senseless killing.”

Zero could feel the determination in her voice. While so far he had only heard her asking for help, thanking him and a little embarrassed, her voice this time carried enough force to convey just how important this was, there were no signs of fear or doubts, only a strong will.

“This is why I need to ask you to do something” Ciel added.

“This is something that, despite our best efforts, no one has been able to accomplish. I want you to destroy the Disposal Center where they retire our comrades one after another… It’s not far from here.”

Zero contemplated for a while what he had just been told. Something told him that this X that was mentioned did not match the one he knew, and even if it was, the actions he was taking contradicted his own ideals while Ciel tried to end the dispute peacefully. It was true that he had just barely explored this world, but he wasn’t going to allow any more people to die if he could prevent it.

“Right, I’ll do it.”

Ciel was right, once he got outside the resistance base, it was basically a small walk until Neo Arcadian forces started appearing between him and the Disposal Center. It was not gonna be a walk in the park, but it certainly was not gonna be the hardest challenge in the world.

The way to the Disposal Center was filled with enemies, each and every one of them trying to stop Zero from reaching his objective. However, the combination of both his Buster and Z- Saber was enough to make quick work of most of them, while avoiding most damage dealt to himself. The path he took was perilous on his own. The ruins that surrounded him proved to be dangerous on their since they could be taken advantage of to either hide or try to hit him with concrete blocks from the sky, things that he easily avoided yet still proved to be annoying by slowing him down.

Zero could not remember how did the world used to look before, but seeing all the damage done to a zone where people used to inhabit was enough to discourage anyone, except for him. These ruins were another proof of how bad things were and how much they needed to change, which made Zero push forward even faster than before. He wouldn’t admit it, but he knew that he wanted to do whatever he could to see that promise of a better future that Ciel had given him.

The Disposal Center loomed above his head. There was noting out of the ordinary with it aside from the clear deterioration it had gone through, but it still gave an ominous sensation knowing that it was commonly used to retire reploids accused of being Mavericks. This did not stop Zero, who was determined to return to the resistance base with a successful mission.

The disposal center was not that different in amount of enemies than the outside, but they were far more annoying since the verticality of the place itself allowed the enemies to always have the advantage over Zero. The amount of trash and debris that was also in his way made things more difficult to navigate, but it was to be expected, the enemy forces, unlike the resistance, did not care about the conditions in which they worked. Heavy machinery could be heard at all times, Zero did not know if all of them represented a different group of reploids being retired or if it was a natural cause of the installation being active, nevertheless, he hurried as best as he could to reach the end of the line, the first time he would encounter a bigger threat than previous ones, and it wouldn’t be the last they would top their previous attempts.

The enemy in front of him presented itself as Aztec Falcon, a colorful falcon-looking reploid that claimed to be the demise of Zero along with those who were currently below them. Zero then noticed that the platform they were in started descending slowly in order for it to ruthlessly destroy the reploids that were trapped, he didn’t have time to lose, and as such he started dashing and launching himself towards the Aztec Falcon while it tried to fend off Zero with electric beams and aerial attacks. 

Those who were below them could barely see anything, they could only tremble and wait for the moment the platform crushed their bodies or stopped at all. They didn’t knew that they had found Zero, but it was somewhat soothing enough to know that someone managed to reach them, so they used all their strength to pray for Zero’s victory, which ultimately proved to be the result of the battle.

Had Zero not descended from the platform after defeating the Falcon, the reploids’ souls might have left their bodies after such a stressful situation. Ciel, who was watching as much as possible from Zero’s vision stream, felt immediately relieved when she saw the reploids safe and sound.

“You did it, Zero!” said Ciel with joy, “With their lider gone, the rest of the enemy forces that are left will have to retreat back to Neo Arcadia and therefore turning the Disposal Center off, we can now rest easier knowing that none of our captured comrades are awaiting their retirement. Thank you very much.”

He couldn’t see her, but just by comparing how she sounded now with how she sounded the very first times she heard her, he knew that she was slightly more relaxed, maybe even happy. He also felt calm for a moment, before tensing his body once again and asking to be transported back to the base.

This was, of course, only one battle won, but it was gonna be the first of many.

Back at the base, Ciel was waiting once again for him in the command room.

“Now that the Disposal Center is out of commission, we can move on to other pressing matters” said Ciel with a slight more upbeat attitude, which confirmed Zero’s thoughts from before, “I’m also very glad that you were able to rescue a couple of our members, this definitely makes everyone feel a lot more secure.”

“I can’t thank you enough for your help, Zero.” 

Zero was taken once again by surprise by Ciel’s words, wasn’t she the one that woke him up after all? If anything, it had been her efforts the ones that ended up paying off. 

Zero did not answer.

“Well…” Ciel started, thinking that maybe he was a bit upset for pushing him too much, “I would like you to help us more in the future, but for now, I suggest you rest.”

While it was true that Zero managed to defeat the Aztec Falcon with taking as little damage as possible, he still was just adapting itself to battling. There was a lot of things left for him to remember, so it was natural that he would be injured too, as long as he dealt the most damage, however, it was worth it.

The legendary reploid only nodded in agreement and turned his back on her to go to his quarters.

They still could not figure out how the other felt nor thought, but they would still have plenty of time to learn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not every single mission will have a detailed explanation of what Zero does in each one, but they will usually be present to cement the interaction between the two and some of Zero's thoughts. The chapters will also probably be larger since the in-between sections of each mission will now be more important.  
> While so far it is still somewhat the game story but, written, since I plan taking on the 4 games, their development will be somewaht slow in this first part concerning the first game, but I hope to make it worth it for the other 3 and the mid-end of this first one.


	3. Gaining Momentum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While everyone is busy trying to survive doing the same routine that has kept them alive for so long, there is a small break of pace in the scientist’s schedule due to the interference of a certain reploid.

Zero wasn’t someone who would go out of their way to entertain themselves if they were doing nothing at the moment. As far as he knew, feeling “bored” is something that he couldn’t experience. However, having nothing to do in the meantime of waiting for him to be needed was nothing short of exasperating.

Ciel still had no news for him. She had previously told him that Neo Arcadia was taking a more indirect approach to tire them out since the resistance’s efforts had proven to be somewhat unsuccessful for most of the time.

What can you do when your only “job” is making sure you slash your enemies the right way?

This question occupied Zero’s mind most of the time he spent going from one place to another, doing little recon missions that helped him get accustomed to the surroundings, scouting for resources and securing them, making sure Neo Arcadian forces didn’t get too close for comfort, etc. However, there wasn’t much that he could in his free time other than chitchat with the resistance members, specially with Andrew, Cerveau and Alouette, who always had something to tell or discuss with him.

Ciel, on the other hand, used to be always running from one place to the other inside the base. She needed to use some of her time to lead the resistance forces adequately in order for them to not risk themselves too much ,but at the same time to accomplish every little mission they needed finished; reserve some of her time to work on her research for a new energy system; taking care of Alouette, since most other people were busy; address the concerns of those who were distressed, they certainly lacked any means of psychological help, so the least she could do was try to listen to them; etc.

Regardless of her usual obligations, Ciel found out one morning that she had a little bit more time between assignments. Missions took less time than usual and reports were being done swiftly and without much problems. The mood inside the resistance was also visibly lighter: people chatted more with each other on their breaks, their faces held more smiles than ever, there was rarely a sign of anguish on them, but most importantly, they looked reinvigorated and hopeful. 

Of course she knew what the reason was.

Zero.

The legendary blonde reploid that everyone saw as their last hope for survival. He had proven to everyone that even a task that no one before could even begin to attempt without shaking was but a walk in the park,and this was just that something that no one wanted to admit out loud, someone they could rely on. Of course everyone looked up to Ciel as someone dependable, but there was only so much she could do with the amount of work she already had, and it was taxing her heavily. Now? Now even she could get a little bit more of space.

However, this did not sit that well with her. She was grateful, of course, even more than everyone else combined since he also had saved her a couple of times, times she was more embarrassed than she would let her admit, but she also felt that having Zero there could make her careless. Her newfound time felt more like a punishment for not doing enough than anything, so she decided to increase the amount of effort that she put into her work.   
Nothing could go wrong when you overwork, right? 

For most members of the resistance, this little change went over their heads. Everyone knew Ciel worked hard and made the best out of her time, this was just her usual self working for the good of the resistance, however, those who were closer to her noticed this change shortly after. Her eyes were halfway closed most of the time, her movements were sluggish, one could hear her working at midnight if one got close to the command room, etc.  
The one who caught wind of what was happening to her was Alouette, of course she would, she always saw her as a big sister and there was no one else that worried for her more than she did. That’s why she had a peculiar petition for the legendary reploid next time they talked.

“Do something?”

“Yes! She’s been sleeping too late and everybody can see just how tired she is!”

“What do you intend me to do? I’m a combat reploid, not a nursing one.”

“Maybe you can talk to her? You are the best reploid around, there is no way you can’t do something.” Her child-like innocence shined trough her eyes, Zero couldn’t possible refuse.

“… I’ll see what I can do”

* * *

He didn’t knew what to do. He got reactivated a few days ago and his only task so far had involved battling enemies on almost a daily basis, there was nothing he knew about how humans behaved, specially in such a situation, but he already gave his word to Alouette, he couldn’t go back on it.

“Talking to Ciel about work?”

“Alouette is worried about her not resting enough” Said Zero on his daily status check with Cerveau

“I see,” Said the engineer, looking at the monitor in front of him while still paying attention at what Zero had to say “Have you talked to her then?”

“I wouldn’t know what to tell her,” said the legendary hero, “besides, she is busy.”

Cerveau couldn’t help but to let out a smile, “So there ARE things you can’t do”

Zero was oblivious to the implications of Cerveau’s statement, he was rather busy trying to come up with a way to address Ciel’s health in the best possible way, but there was only so much he could come up with. His final option? Talking to her directly, maybe just doing it that way was a good approach. Zero thanked Cerveau for his attention and left to look for her. “Those two might be geniuses in their own departments, but they sure are dense when it comes to dealing with other people” Said the engineer to himself.

The great scientist was trying to read a status report for the seventh time today. The last couple of days were rougher than she expected and she could barely go 4 or 5 words without spacing out. 

“Just a little bit longer…” she thought to herself, everyone was doing their best, everyone was trying harder than ever now that Zero was with them. Zero himself was working hard for them, she told herself that she had no right to complain when-

Ah, she got lost in the same sentence again.

Frustrated and tired she stood up from her desk to stretch herself, maybe that was all she needed. Her legs had other plans, once she stood up and tried to reach the ceiling with all her might it seemed as if her strength had been drained all in that one move.

“Huh?”

She could barely understand what had happened. At one point she just felt her body light as a feather while falling to the floor, and at the next she felt a warm rigid embrace around her. Barely awake, she started drifting into the realm of the dreams when she felt that her fall came to a stop.

Zero was quite confused, once he opened her door and saw her falling, he instinctively dashed to catch her before hitting the harsh concrete floor.

“Ciel?”

The scientist did not answer, instead, he could only hear her soft and even breathing. This was not what he had in mind when he decided to come to her room to talk to her about her health, even though it was practically the result he wanted to reach.

He lifted her up and walked towards her bed in order to lay her down in it, trying carefully to position her in the most comfortable pose he could think of, which is not that comfortable when you are a reploid that can basically recharge itself in almost any situation. After confirming that she was in no way injured and that it seemed to be something minor, Zero stepped away from her bed.

Her room seemed different than the times he had been called by her to address some important details about the resistance and Neo Arcadia. It was apparent that while it was one of the cleaner if not the cleanest room in the whole base, there were some minor details that revealed how Ciel didn’t had time to pay attention to them. Among these details were some coffee stains all around her chair, even a couple of them on it, her desk was unusually cluttered with little gadgets and even more stains, etc. She was indeed getting somewhat careless, even if these details could have been normal for most of the resistance members.

Zero couldn’t help but notice that Ciel had scribbled a couple notes in her desk that resembled little reminders, probably for herself.  
“Remember that your work will greatly help those you care for, this time it will work out.”

“This time?” Zero wondered, as far as he could tell, everything she had been able to do brought only good things to the resistance. He didn’t really think much about it after reading the second note.

“We’ve finally found Zero, but no matter how legendary he is, you still can’t allow yourself to grow complacent.”

There were many things that Zero did not know about Ciel, but he could see her effort in trying to make the resistance last as long as it took to reach peace. 

He turned around to look at her one more time, she had positioned herself in a more comfortable position, and seemed to be in a very deep sleep. It was somewhat calming. Her usual self always had either one or some combination of expressions that showed how stressed she was or how much in pain she felt. Now? She was laying in a golden silk mantle that was always on her back, the only movement present was the one her breathing produced. It was, in fact, as if she was the most harmless human in all the world.

This made a very stark contrast with how everyone saw her, of course that she wasn’t a very intimidating leader, and many of the resistance members mentioned how much better they felt just by looking at her calm self, but she was by no means harmless, she was the commander, after all. There were many situations they had gone through situations where any other human or reploid would have cracked under the overwhelming pressure, but not her. She was also determined and hopeful.

The human in front of Zero was someone really special, while he accepted to talk to her on behalf of Alouette, something sparked inside Zero’s eyes. He wondered if working harder along her could lift some weight off her shoulders.

As if on cue, one of the monitors began glowing and softly chiming with a small notification which Zero examined.

The data that had just finished being decrypted contained the plans and schedules of some of the moves from the Neo Arcadian forces. All of her work was paying off even if she was asleep at that moment.

There was a scheduled supply train that would be passing by in a few hours. Additionally, there were some notes about a special Cyber Elf that had been captured some time ago, an elf that Ciel had interest in rescuing.

A factory nearby had just recently been occupied by Neo Arcadia to produce some more energy. The resistance’s own energy supply had been depleting slowly, this was a good moment to strike after they had set everything up to power their Utopia, and not much resistance could be expected as they were just starting.

Some information found in the Neo Arcadian servers confirmed that some enemies were dispatched to the old laboratory where Zero was found in order to search for sensible information regarding the legendary reploid. Taking into consideration that Zero was the strongest threat against Neo Arcadia, it was only reasonable to go and snatch that information from their hands.

Finally, and most urgently, there was an intercepted report that indicated that Neo Arcadian forces had found and promptly taken down a transport plane that some resistance members took to escape from their imprisonment. They had crashlanded in the desert, but that did not stop Neo Arcadia from closing in on their location.

Zero knew he had no time to lose, so after turning the electronics off and covering Ciel with some blankets, he left her room, determined to handle these situations himself.

On his way to see Cervau, he ordered to some of the Resistance’s members he came across to not disturb Ciel for some time.

“If there is any emergency, contact me directly. Only interrupt Ciel if I say so.”

Everyone nodded as he turned away to keep walking.

“I usually wouldn’t feel comfortable with you going alone on a mission, let alone four of them, specially when our commander is unavailable, but,” said Cerveau, putting his hand on Zero’s shoulder. “I trust that you will not fail”. 

Zero nodded once again and left his lab.

It was true that embarking on 4 consecutive missions could get nasty if they were handled poorly,even to him, but he figured that it was the least someone dubbed “the legendary hero” could do. What kind of help can you really offer if you can’t even let the people that trust you sleep knowing they have nothing to worry about?  
Zero was oblivious to a discrete smile that his lips formed at the thought of a well-rested Ciel. 

There was no time to lose, however, so once he reached the surface, he quickly ran to get started on his marathon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Initially this chapter was gonna be quite different and longer but I ran into troubles trying to bring it to the flow I wanted. I can't say it's perfect but I did want to keep going. Hopefully this time without taking so long :b.


	4. Dual Wake-ups

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once one of them wakes up, the other has to go to sleep. After having been through so much pressure, Zero's arrival at the resistance's base is met with joyful cheer, enough to wake up Ciel. His body, however, would still need to get used to the intensity of marathons like that, so it was his turn to sleep. Thanks to the teasing of a certain engineer and to the gossip of others, these two opposites are a little bit closer than before.

The Resistance base was in quite rough conditions ever since Ciel set foot in it, however, it never posed a problem for the member’s sleep. Of course everyone had restless nights thinking about the impending doom that Neo Arcadia represented against them, but things like loud noises were not an issue thanks to the thick concrete walls standing between rooms unless it was an alarm.

However, this time was different. The collective shouts and steps of the people in the resistance base from all the floors and hallways made their way into Ciel’s room, startling her awake. 

To Ciel’s surprise and horror, the time displayed on her handy PDA was way later than the last time she had seen the clock.

She didn’t have enough time to ponder on these thoughts as the loud exterior preoccupied her more. Making sure she was as presentable as sh could, she went to the hallway and towards the origin of the commotion.

Seeing him in such a rough state made her heart drop. He was standing, with the same stoic expression she always saw him with. He turned to her, staring at each other’s eyes with what seemed to be a little smile, walked towards her closing the distance between the two, and in a single sigh stated:

“You seem to be doing better.”

And promptly collapsed to the floor.

* * *

"He will be fine. All the damage he received is minor, he collapsed out of the combination from both the pain and exhaustion, it will probably take him a while to wake up."

Cerveau had just finished diagnosing Zero's status before he told Ciel about his condition. She let out a sigh of relief before taking a good look at the motionless Zero in front of her, watching him in such a state is something she only saw briefly the day she found him. She got horribly scared when he hit the floor with the loudest notice she ever heard a body make when falling, but fortunately for her everything seemed to be just fine.

"This wouldn't have happened if I had done my work correctly." said Ciel with a voice filled with self hatred.

Cerveau wanted to say many things, but he knew that he couldn't beat her logic and evidence as long as Zero was out cold. It was still hard to see her despise herself even after doing so much for everyone in the base. One thing he did know was the reason Zero put his life on the line.

"Maybe that's the case, but you shouldn't underestimate Zero."

Ciel, who was scolding herself mentally was caught by surprise by the engineer's remark, giving him a puzzled look.

"I know you feel responsible for his state, but it is not as if he was in great danger. He would have ended up going to all those places anyway sooner or later, it just so happens that he chose to tackle them all at once, and who know his capabilities more than himself?" said Cerveau not taking his eyes off the console from Zero's pod. 

"He might not remember much from the past, but there is no doubt he knows the extent of his power, he is by no means someone that would take a heavier load than he can carry."

Ciel couldn't argue against it. Out of everyone in the resistance she was the one individual that believed in him the most. He had saved her a couple times and improved their chances of survival astronomically just by being with them, there was no doubt that he could pull these kind of stunts. It was also true that he would eventually find himself in those situations sooner or later, by none other than her own requests, if anything, this was brought to him by himself, but there was something that didn't feel right.

She didn't knew his motives.

"Maybe it isn't my fault but-" Ciel started "I still don't understand why he would put himself under such pressure willingly, there were almost no advantages to taking such missions in one go."

She genuinely didn't knew. Even when Cerveau knew exactly why, and most other resistance members could piece the answer together, she never thought about the possibility that Zero, the stoic cool-headed legendary reploid would put himself into such task just to let her rest. Who could blame her? It was illogical at most, there was no room for her to consider it, not from Zero’s behalf at least.

"Why don't you ask him when he wakes up, then?" suggested the engineer.  
Even though Ciel was probably the smartest person in the vicinity, there were many things that the genius couldn't do or that would never cross his mind. Questioning the legendry reploid his motives for doing something so beneficial to all of them was certainly out of the question.

"A-ask him? No no no no, I can't possibly do that! He must have had his reasons, at least important enough so that he didn't find it necessary to tell me beforehand, I don't know him enough to be questioning what he does"

Cerveau couldn't help but let a little giggle scape from his mouth. Ciel saw Zero as a celebrity that was going out of his way to help them and Zero saw Ciel as a very busy and hardworking commander that shouldn't be disturbed. Even so, this celebrity of hers had just blazed through the missions just so the mighty commander could get a good rest.   
He tried with all his might to contain himself, but it proved to be futile.

"Well, why don't you start getting to know him a little more then?"  
Ciel's face was the embodiment of shock itself. Her eyes were wide open only matched by her mouth. It looked as if she had been caught in the middle of doing something shady.

"W-what are you saying? There is no time for us to discuss things about each other a-and there is no way I can bother him with such trivial things," Ciel stated in a rush to prevent Cerveau from saying more, which also failed.

"You know? It is true that we have come to rely on him a lot. Which is why I think that it would be better for everyone to get to know him better," firmly stated Cerveau. "That of course goes to all of us, but you are our leader. If there is someone who should get to know more about him it should be you. You found him, unsealed him and only you know the best ways to keep him safe. If we are to find a solution to this whole ordeal, it's gonna be with the power of you two combined. "

Ciel was speechless. There were some points she wanted to debate, but she couldn't possibly refute his last statement. If Ciel was the symbol of all the efforts and hope the resistance fought for, Zero was the strength and determination that would get them there.

"Well... If you put it like that then..."

Cerveau once again couldn't contain himself.

"Besides, it's not as if you wouldn't want to get to know him better, right?"

Who would have thought the calm and professional Cerveau would have so much fun teasing Ciel about the reploid currently resting in front of them? Ciel thanked the heavens for the fact that Zero was out cold, even if she felt a little bad for doing so. Her face started matching her pink clothes and whenever she tried to speak words wouldn't come out.

"Am I mistaken? I know how much you investigated about him before you found him, it's only natural for you to want to know more about this legend that was only present in myths," Said Cerveau to finish off Ciel's logical thoughts.

The scientist held her face between her hands letting of a slight sigh of relief. "Yes, of course that's it" she thought to herself, but she still felt as if she had pushed herself into a corner.

It had been years since Cerveau had this much fun, which made him finally let Ciel off the hook.

"Well, at least now I hope you have a little more to look forward to when he wakes up."

As much as she wished to deny it, it was true. With all the tasks Zero completed out of the way, there was little to do regarding waiting for new developments on his actions. They would have some time to rest until something urgent happened.

"You should go back to your room and catch up with what happened while you were unavailable, I'll keep looking after him and notify you should something arise or when he wakes up."

Ciel, having finally settled down, thanked Cerveau for his help and decided to leave before she could get cornered again. There were still many things to do, but she wasn't feeling as stressed as before, the sleep she had was surely something she needed.

Once Ciel left the room, Cerveau was left alone with Zero's pod. He was still smiling from his successful teasing.

"Fortunately for us, you will still take a few hours to come to your senses" he said to the immobile Zero.

Even though this round was over, he couldn't help but wonder if there was any way at all in which to corner the legendary reploid in the same way.   
"Well, there is always a tomorrow."

* * *

Ciel managed to calm herself after she left the Engine room, all of Cerveau's teasing had really agitated her for some reason, but she chose not to dwindle too much about it, after all, she still had work to do for now.

Zero's reports from the missions were recorded in her PDA once he arrived to the base and right before he passed out. Ciel couldn't help but feel uneasy about seeing Zero collapse like that in front of her, it was the first time he had shown any sign of physical strain to such level, she was worried.

She kept reading the reports thoroughly on her way to her room until a familiar voice boarded the elevator alongside her.

"Ciel! You are awake!"

Startled by the surprise, she pried her eyes away from the small screen and got suddenly pushed by a rushing Alouette that wanted to give her a hug.

"Oh, Alouette, is something the matter?"

The small child took a step back once her hug requirements had been met and promptly stared at Ciel as if she were conducting a high-level scan of her face"

"A-Alouette?" said Ciel, taken aback by her intense staring.

"You look better! Did you rest well?" she blurted out.

"Rest?" Ciel asked. "I guess I did?"

The child in front of her wore the innocent smile that she only allowed Ciel to see without the interference of her doll.

"I know you did! You don't look tired anymore!"

The scientist was a little surprised. It was true that she was feeling tired before she passed out, but no one else seemed to notice, she also believed that she wasn't as tired as her body felt. Alouette noticing only strengthened her self-awareness.

"Have you seen Zero? I've got to thank him for something." Alouette added.

"Zero is..." Ciel started, looking puzzled at the image she was thinking about earlier, "unavailable for now, he and Cerveau are busy with something."

Alouette was clearly a little upset about this, as indicated by her pout, but she decided to push no further. Instead, she decided to warn Ciel. 

"Please don't tire yourself again! If you do that, you are gonna make us worry again!" 

Before Ciel could answer any of it, Alouette stepped out of the elevator that had just stopped. It wasn't her own destination, so she left her go even if her words lingered longer than he wanted. 

Ciel continued her way to her room as she was previously doing. Fortunately for her, Zero's methodical and cold nature made his report all the more easy to follow and to analyze, it looked as if a computer had logged all the pertinent information alongside him. 

Once she finally reached her room, she was surprised to notice that she had indeed been neglecting her workspace. She might have been working, but she was still horrified by the small details that showed her carelessness. 

"Oh no, how could I have done this?" she asked herself while cleaning and organizing her belongings once again. 

"If someone where to see this..." 

That's when it struck her. She didn't remember ever going to bed after passing out. All she remembered was stretching herself after trying to read something for the hundredth time and then being overwhelmed by a black mist. It was impossible for her to have crawled her way into bed. 

Putting two and two together was a bit more terrifying than she previously thought. It was clear that someone had brought her to her bed, that same someone had to obviously enter and see her room to do so, her body didn't hurt anywhere so this person had to catch her before she fell, and promptly turned off everything inside her room as to not wake her up. 

By this point it was obvious who this person was, but the nail in the coffin was brought by Alouette's previous words, "you are gonna make Us worry again." 

She didn't knew what was worse, the fact that she collapsed and had to be carried to her bed, the state in which her room was, or just the fact that Zero had stepped out of his way to let her sleep. A million thoughts were rushing through her head to try and explain why such a series of unfortunate events had unfolded as such. 

She once again felt guilty. It had been her carelessness which made Zero end up in his current state. Even when she wanted to do her best alongside him, it proved to be detrimental to him. She really wanted to curl up into a hole, and probably would have done it if she hadn't slept so much previously. The dread was piling up, and it was only stopped by one thought alone: Zero's words of slight relief when he saw her awake. 

It was definitely weird. He should have been annoyed at minimum, yet he really didn't seem to care. Reading his expression was always difficult, no one really ever saw him with an expression other than his usual poker face, and yet when he came back, despite being battered and tired, it seemed as if he was somewhat relieved. None of it made sense. 

Her mind kept trying to come up with excuses to make her feel like the worst person ever for not being enough, but they were pretty minor in comparison. She couldn't help but feel a little relieved and even happy at the thought that she had been "protected" even if just a little bit. Perhaps Cerveau was right, she did want to know more about the legendary reploid, it was a complete mystery to everyone, and even more to her.

* * *

There are many mysteries that we might never fully understand about the reploid. One of them being how they experience "sleep" and losing consciousness. Whatever the case might be, for Zero this was nothing to be worried about, as far as he was concerned, humans' feelings were far more complex to understand, which is why once his senses returned to him, he could only wonder about why Ciel would have put herself under so much stress willingly, totally oblivious to the fact that he was in the same situation. 

Cerveau noticed his sudden spike in activity, some hours had passed ever since he arrived to the base but it was still pretty early in comparison to his estimations on the time it would take for him to wake up. "That's a legendary reploid alright" he told to himself. 

"Finally awake?" asked Cervau while running a couple more diagnostics before allowing Zero to move freely again. 

"Seems to be the case," Zero answered in his typical monotone voice. 

"You are surprisingly sturdy and tough for someone your age," the engineer added. 

Zero didn't answer. It was still hard for him to believe he was so old as to have been considered a legend and myth. 

After giving him some updates regarding the status of the base and Ciel, Zero left the room. Everyone was busy as usual, but people this time seemed to be in higher spirits regarding Zero. The gossip he could pick up from time to time was livelier and happier.

“Did you see how battered he was when he arrived? I really didn’t think I’d see him like that!

“It surprised me too, but who could blame him? I heard from the infirmary that those new arrivals were rescued by him”

“I heard that too, I didn’t think we could get so much done in a single day!”

Some people went out of their way to greet him more than usual. The image of a cold-blooded soldier reploid was melting rapidly with each sign of compromise Zero showed towards the resistance’s goals and its members. He didn’t really understand it, it still was his job, but he wouldn’t stop them for that.

“Zero! You are awake!”

The sweet high pitched voice from Ciel traveled the entire hallway, making some of the people that were walking through jump, except, of course, for the one she was addressing.

He just stood on the right side of the hallway watching as she slowly sprinted towards him. She looked somewhat funny, but not in a way that would be made fun of, the others would agree that it was quite the cute sprint, but that went over his head.

“I received the update from Cerveau, but I had to see you personally.” Said Ciel, looking at him in search for any indication of damage left.

“Personally?” asked Zero, “I thought Cerveau included the integrity reports too.”

“I-I mean, yes but…” continued Ciel, shyly, “I still wanted to see you by myself and… also thank you.”

“Thank me? I just did what was needed of me, there is no reason for you to thank me.” The reploid answered with his usual undisturbed face.

“Yes, yes, I know but you did so much for us that it even got you injured! I’m also very sorry for that! I mean, I’m really grateful for what you did but I really would have preferred if you had told me before so we could take everything slower and safer…” rushed Ciel.

“What about you? Had we done that you would probably still be pushing your body to dangerous limits,” answered Zero, never breaking eye contact with her, “Alouette and Cerveau were worried about you. The moment I saw you you were already blacking out.”

Ciel remembered her previous conclusion regarding her sleep, which made her embarrassed again.

“Well y-yeah but… that’s nothing compared to the dangers of losing you in combat…”

“I know my limits, that’s why I decided to take care of things that way. You are much more important than I am. If something happens to you, the whole resistance could turn to dust in a day, while you have survived without me before.”

Ciel knew he was right. She also knew that even so, they were having a very hard time before, but there was no denying that they had managed to get so far thanks to her as much as she wanted to say otherwise.

“Besides,” continued Zero, “I don’t think you would have wanted it any other way given how peaceful and relaxed you looked in your sleep.”

Fortunately for Ciel, this statement didn’t caught her by surprise alone, those who were eavesdropping had their eyes wide open and some of them hiding their smiles, but most importantly, it caught Zero off guard too.

Ciel was clearly embarrassed by the fact that she was observed by Zero in her most defenseless state.

The resistance members where thinking about how they would tell their other friends about what just had happened.

Zero, on the other hand, was trying to find the reason why remembering her in that state had made him smile a bit while trying to be completely serious.

It was the only moment he broke eye contact with her. The silence was also growing bigger and bigger.

“That is by no means a lie, so why should I dwell on it?” Zero thought for himself.

“You were clearly tired and in need of a break. So much so that it took your body no time at all for it to completely disregard its surroundings and sleep deeply. Alouette was worried and with reason, I just did what needed to be done for you to rest appropriately, and the results are satisfactory for all of us.” Zero said, unaware of his longer than usual defensive speech.

Ciel didn’t want to keep saying more, at least not where everyone could keep listening to them. Zero might be the one that could notice every soul in the hallway, but she knew what it could eventually lead to. She couldn’t keep facing him for now.

“Well…I guess that is true… but in that case, I should still thank you, don’t you think?”

Zero also instinctively wanted to get out of the situation as soon as possible, without a clear reason why.

“Maybe so. Regardless of that, I’m sure you still have work to do. Contact me if you need me.” Said Zero before turning around and walk towards his own room, almost back to his composed self.

Ciel just watched him go, still fidgeting with her hands before going towards her own room. 

Regarding everyone else that was present, it was clear that they would make the morale skyrocket with new gossip. 

“Both of them are soooo different! It makes you want to see them interact more, doesn’t it?”

“We are lucky none of them was in shape to address us after that. But I can’t wait to see more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that the first game is gonna be probably the hardest one to go through since it's so... straightforward. But at least that can also allow me to take some liberties. I really want to focus more on these two's development, while also having the original plot contribute to it.


	5. Knowing Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ciel decides to tag along with Zero for a day to be able to know more about the legendary reploid, but she soon finds out that she will need to be more direct if she truly wants to get closer to the legendary hero.

A couple days passed since Zero's ordeal regarding his mission marathon. Ciel kept herself busy going through his reports, tending to the rescued cyber elf, looking for new developments and avoiding straining herself further. She had learned her lesson at least for the time being, it was clear that if something important were to happen she would not think twice about not sleeping for some days, but for now, everything was in order.

So much in order that she was back in square one regarding her duties. This time around Zero allowed her to have something she didn't think she would ever experience again ever since Neo Arcadia changed administration: a free day.

Of course that she could kept herself busy with minor tasks, but it wouldn't matter. She was waiting for both new information to turn up regarding some of her investigations on the next moves from Neo Arcadia and she was currently in a roadblock regarding her investigation, which had already stressed her out similarly to a student trying it's best to finish an essay for the following day after not being able to come up with a subject.

In theory, she indeed had a free day, maybe even more if it took more time. But she didn't knew what to do with all of that time, which felt like a total waste. This idea started to feed her feeling of worthlessness from before, there should be something that she could do, right?

Well, there was indeed something she could do, something she was told would be better for the resistance as a whole, something she also in fact wanted to do, but it was this latter reason which also made her question if it was truly a wise use of her time or just a selfish justification of her own desires.

The thing is, she wanted to follow Cerveau's advice an get to know Zero a little bit better.

But how could she? There was, of course, the fact that even if she dared to ask him directly, Zero himself remembered little about his past,as far as she knew she was the one that probably knew more about his own exploits than he did. That was, of course, if she even asked, which was its own problem altogether. None of them talked outside of their required interactions regarding mission reports, inquiries, permissions, etc. How could she ever approach him in a way that benefited both of them so it wouldn't be a waste of time but that also would let her get closer to the apparently emotionless reploid? 

She didn't want to come off as someone that just wanted to be there for no reason, she wanted to have a reason that wasn't just her own "selfish" desires, but how could he ever benefit from having her alongside him? The thought alone depressed her. What could she do for the already legendary reploid? 

"Well maybe he wouldn't care if it benefited him as long as it did benefit me..."

The thought crossed her mind in an instant, but the increasing feeling of egoism growing inside her just made her even more uncomfortable, although she knew it was a possibility. 

" After all, I'm still his superior... "

She didn't really like how she was thinking, but there was not much going on that would negate the validity of her ideas, as long as she could get something of value from being with him, he should probably allow her to stick by. 

But just what would that be?

* * *

Zero was about to start his daily activities when he felt someone slowly approaching from behind his back. His natural reaction would have been to turn around immediately to confront whoever was being so suspicious, but there was no apparent ill intent in this person's steps, which only made him a little bit more confused with himself. 

Ciel, on the other hand, was timidly deciding when to ask him if she could join him for the day, she had been following him for at least 5 minutes and telling herself "I'll talk to him in a bit" every minute by now, and her lack of action only made it ever so difficult for her to put her plans on motion because "if he notices I have been following him for that reason alone it will be very awkward." 

Neither of them came to a conclusion between their desires and natures, so they kept walking for a while longer without addressing each other. It looked as if Ciel was a duckling following her mother, while at the same time having a considerable distance between him. The tension between the two was so heavy and dense it could practically be used as target practice if they chose to. Those who were able to watch them were really amused, some even wondered if that was their way of interacting.

However, when Zero entered what Ciel remembered to be an empty room, her mind went blank, what could he possibly want to do there? Would they be alone if she entered? Was he aware of her following him? Did he want to spend his time alone? Her train of thought had already departed on a trip to Mars. 

"Ciel! Didn't think I would find you here!" a voice from her back was heard, "are you gonna start training now too?" 

Ciel was surprised by the sudden interruption of her thoughts and quickly turned around to see who was speaking to her, finding a smiling Cerveau standing in front of her. 

"I... Er... No I was just... Well.." Sentences were hard to finish.

"Training?" she realized, "but we don't have the equipment to do so." 

The engineer smiled after seeing her confused expression. 

"Well, that was certainly the case, why don't we step inside?" suggested after taking a step further and reaching for the door. 

Ciel was hesitant, she still thought that Zero would be alone in the empty room, and while it was indeed lonely, the room itself was now equipped with what looked like standard machines and items that would be found in most respectable training areas back in Neo Arcadia. They weren't pretty to look at, but they certainly did look sturdy and trustworthy, complementing the room's looks with their makeshift appearance. Zero stood in the middle of the room, toying around with the main panel of one of the biggest machines. 

She was clearly confused, no one had ever told her that they possessed such things, and they certainly did not have them according to last week's resource report. 

"Zero over there there it's the one that came up with the idea," said Cerveau, seeing how clearly lost she was. "He apparently got concerned with his own skills and condition after his little marathon and damage, so he wanted to train so things wouldn't happen the same way again."

There was a little smile that shined trough the engineer's face.

"He would also not admit it outright, but he wanted everyone to have a place to both train and blow off some steam, which is why he asked me to come up with some basic equipment for everyone with materials he gathered himself on his patrols." 

Who would have thought such a cold reploid would actively find ways to improve other people's experience?

"It also allows everyone to train better and be in top shape should any threats come by, everyone should be able to hold their ground without me." 

"Whoops, look like he heard us" answered Cerveau after listening to what Zero said. 

Zero had finished checking the status of all the other machines while they were talking in front of the door, he was now staring at them, with his typical unimpressed expression, and he was walking towards them, more specifically, to Ciel. 

"Did you need something? I noticed you were following me all the way from the command room" he said, leaving out the part where he was indecisive too. 

"Is that so?" Cervau mischievously said in the same tone he used when he was teasing Ciel back when Zero was unconscious. 

Ciel was embarrassed and could probably be mistaken with a really big strawberry if it hadn't been for her golden hair.

"W-well,you see that's... Because... Well..." words would still not come out, she was so easily cornered as always.

“How come you noticed and yet didn’t say anything, Zero?” Cerveau had come to her rescue, although it was more accurate to say he had come to corner Zero too.

Zero was clearly caught off guard. He kept staring at them intensely, they expected a scolding, some indifference words, perhaps nothing even.

Thats why it was surprising to see him avert their gaze and turn his head away.

“I just thought it wouldn’t harm anyone if she tagged along.”

* * *

Ciel knew how to defend herself, but most of what she had learned was either self-defense she was taught back at Neo Arcadia or something she had to learn on her own once they escaped from them. Watching everyone practice was a bit more interesting than she previously thought, despite it’s violent nature, they had to concentrate enough so they wouldn’t miss their targets or make a mistake, some soldiers preferred to practice on their own while others tried their best to stick in groups and pull through together, everything they were doing was for the sake of making a better future where everyone could live peacefully, only then would they be able to truly avoid harming others. 

The best example of this was no one other than Zero. He was alone slashing left and right the targets that were being thrown at him by a machine Cerveau had specifically manufactured for him, it was only due to the reploid’s skills that he was able to practice in such a manner. Every target that was thrown at him could only be seen briefly by any of the spectator’s eyes, but there was no doubt that they were directed at Zero, and even at such speed they posed no threat against his inhuman reflexes and speed.

“It’s beautiful” Ciel thought to herself, not so sure about where the praise was going, the movements, or Zero himself.

He never took a step back, or missed a single target, not even under so much pressure or with everyone’s eyes on him, everything about him felt incredibly calculated and determined that just by watching his slices you’d want to practice on your own. It looked so easy.

And yet.

There was no way someone could endure such responsibility with ease, right? Zero had been a legend for most people that had ever heard about him, a great deal of information had been lost in the previous war, and even by then he and X were big names, maybe that was why he was accustomed to it? His memories might have been gone, but there was the possibility he just instinctively shouldered all that responsibility out of habit, was that truly ok? How could she know?

She could only wonder if that was appropriate, what she did know is that staying to see him train for a while more was somewhat soothing for her thoughts.

* * *

Next up was a far tamer activity, Zero had gotten himself in the habit of helping carrying heavy loads of resources in and out of the base after he had brought the materials for the training room to Cerveau. It wasn’t something flashy and for some even something that didn’t fit a legend, but Zero didn’t mind as long as he wasn’t idling by. Ciel, on the other hand, was actually having some trouble keeping up with him since even if he was carrying the heaviest loads, he still was the fastest out of everyone else. She didn’t had to help, everyone was pretty much against it, but she still wanted too, even if only a little, but there was only so much someone as small as her could carry for the time being. She still tried her best.

There was really not much time for them to talk about anything, just like how it was while training, but Ciel did notice something about Zero, while not about his past, it was certainly still worth the struggle.

Most people around him were no longer either too afraid of him or too impressed by him so much as to avoid him completely, the walls that the legend and his own appearance had built were, if not completely down, clearly lower. He didn’t really speak with anyone, but he did listen to them if they wanted to talk to him. He wouldn’t brush them off or scold them, maybe his face would stay the same as before, but the usual defensive feeling he would show was no longer as present, and everyone liked to be close to him.

Ciel couldn’t talk to him, but it made her feel calmer seeing how approachable he was becoming, even if it was slow.

* * *

Ciel had to separate herself from Zero for a while, she needed to take a break from the constant movement and their carrying duties, as well as needing to eat something before proceeding with the day. It wasn’t going as she would have wanted, there was just not much going on that would tell her anything regarding Zero, except for a couple details.

“Maybe I should just leave him alone” Ciel thought to herself. It was clear that things would continue to be similar from this point on and she was also afraid of being an annoyance, maybe Zero was just being considerate enough to not tell her, he was, after all, apparently more lenient when it came to the people surrounding him.

She clearly wanted to stick to him at least today, but was it worth the troubles she would cause to other people? Probably not, or that’s the conclusion she arrived to. She decided to go back to her room.

On the other side, Zero was wondering where she had gone. It was obvious that she had sticked to him for some reason, but they didn’t had any chance to address this issue. He had thought that it was something that couldn’t be discussed in front of everyone while at the same time not totally urgent, but if that was the case, what would have been the right action? Directly suspend his activities to talk to her or wait until they were finished? It took him all the time they had spent on duty to figure out an answer, he chose to talk to her when he had come back from his patrols, just so they could talk outside while being perfectly sure that no one could bother them. However, Ciel wasn’t waiting for him as he had expected once he came back, which was odd, he was sure about something being on her mind, but he was busy. Maybe it wasn’t anything important, after all? For the time being, he chose to keep going until his duties were finished, maybe he was wrong.

Ciel was really regretting holing herself up in her room again, there was nothing to do and her thoughts had already started flooding her mind as usual, the struggle was even stronger now after the events of the day. How could she be so egoist as to want to be with Zero undisturbed? He clearly had more pressing matters to attend to even if he didn’t had any specific missions to tackle, for her, it was just another proof of how much of a bad person she was. She had already resigned herself to think herself to sleep, and it would have worked, if it hadn’t been for a certain reploid to enter her room, not knocking as it was usual, which strangely enough was his only obvious quirk.

Zero found her desperately hugging her pillow as if her life depended on suffocating it, while surprising, he didn’t let this distract him from his objective. Ciel on the other hand didn’t knew what was worse, that she had been once again embarrassed or that she was slowly but surely getting accustomed to it.

Ciel collected herself after a moment but decided to stay in the edge of her bed, trying to hide her face as much as possible, the thoughts hadn’t completely left her mind. 

“Is something the matter, Zero?” she said trying to avert his gaze.

While usually dull when it came to reading other people, Zero could tell something was wrong. Even when work had pushed her to her limits, she wouldn’t have stopped being as productive as she could, watching her in a messy bed, with the lights off and trying desperately to vent her frustrations onto a pillow would worry anyone, even him.

What was the correct thing to ask? Would his words matter? How can you chose the most efficient words to try and comfort other people? He was getting better at dealing with other people, of course, but he was still far from actually bringing his own words to other people. 

Once again, the only thing he could do is say what was on his mind.

“I thought you needed something, so I found a place close by for you to be able to ask.”

In retrospective, it was a weird plan. Why wouldn’t she be able to tell him what she needed anywhere else? He didn’t really understood it but it was the most logical thing he could think of, even if it was far-fetched.

There was silence.

Both of them expected some kind of follow up and answer, but none of them really knew what else to say even when both their minds were trying to understand different things running through their minds.

None of them talked, but both reached the same conclusion:it was worth a shot.

* * *

The outside ruins were somewhat melancholic to Zero, he didn’t remember anything from his past, but he was absolutely sure that he had seen similar or worse damage before. The streets were empty and full of ruble, the buildings loomed over them as a remainder of war but they also looked like they could crumb in a second. It was truly a moment frozen in time. 

“It’s such a stark contrast seeing this place being so ruined after having lived in Neo Arcadia for years,” Ciel started, “not only in how everything looks, but also the sounds and smells. There used to be so many different colors from the buildings to the people, the way everyone talked with each other and how everyone could just stick together.”

“I really want to go back to those times, but I can’t just let other people be annihilated just because they were made differently. I want us to be able to stand together, not divided, to prevent any more conflicts like this one, and the ones in the past.”

“That’s why I really need from everyone’s help, to make that a reality. And that includes you, Zero.”

Ciel stared at him decisively, once again showing the capabilities she had as a leader, although Zero did not understand something.

“I understand that, but, I’m already here thanks to your efforts, do you need something else?” Zero asked.

Ciel hesitated, could she really just ask him to allow her to know him better? Would it really help them both to accomplish their objectives and not just a selfish request?

Did it really matter?

“What I want to ask of you is to know you better,” shyly requested Ciel, “both you and I are important for the resistance, and I’d like to be able to know more about you and you to trust me beyond just my logic.”

Zero didn’t answer right away, it was clearly an odd request, was it really so important as to require both of them being alone? Then again, that was his own idea so maybe it wasn’t as big as it sounded. Regardless of that, it still made him feel somewhat relieved, this time it was something he could do, even if it was a very unique petition.

“I can’t promise you much since I myself don’t remember much about myself, I’m not even sure I’m the legendary reploid you all have chosen to see me as,” started Zero, without taking his eyes off the sky, “as far as I know, everything you can see when you look at me is everything I am, nothing more, nothing less.”

“But if you say that it could help you achieving that dream of yours,” Zero continued, finally looking at Ciel, “then we can try.” Finished off followed by extending his hand towards Ciel, who also stared at him once she shook his hand.

It was probably a very curious exchange to see, it certainly looked like a business deal had just been sealed, but then again, both of them were very special in their own ways, and yet very similar too.

From now on, they could keep trying to understand each other better, without having to rely on other people or in legends. It was truly a big step towards their goals.

But of course, it wouldn’t go swiftly, and they were reminded of this fact when both received an urgent message from the command room. Neo Arcadian forces were approaching their location, fast, and they certainly wanted to eradicate them at once.


	6. Drilling Issues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having their conversation cut short by an alarming notification, Ciel and Zero return to the base. A large amount of pantheons are approaching the resistance base, but, worst of all, there is a giant mechaniloid that is trying to make it's way to the base. Having to confront the giant mechaniloid directly, Zero leaves the resistance soldiers to defend themselves against a relentless force determined to wiping them out.

Even though both Ciel and Zero had just barely managed to finish talking, both of them still felt the interruption as a very bad omen, they had gotten an emergency call from the base, but everything afterwards was barely understandable, something was interfering with their coms, something big was gonna happen.

Zero was indubitably faster than Ciel, which is why he didn’t waver when he ordered Ciel to let him carry her all the way to the base. Had it been under other circumstances, maybe one of them could have enjoyed it, but this time, none of them had a second to lose to be thinking about it.

They arrived at the main entrance of the base, where a platoon of soldiers where already gathered. Once dropped off, Ciel and Zero got quickly briefed about the new and surprising developments regarding Neo Arcadia.

“You have arrived! We have no time to lose. Ciel, about 5 minutes ago we received visual confirmation of an attack coming from Neo Arcadia, but this time they have something much worse than just their regular troops.” said the guard that met them, readily transmitting them the images of what looked like a giant mechaniloid plagued with drills in its front.

“It’s being heavily guarded by smaller mechaniloids as the vanguard,making a beeline directly towards the main gate, if this thing reaches us, they…” the voice of the guard died out, not daring to picture what the outcome would be in such a perilous situation.

Both Zero and Ciel looked at each other, trying to think of a counter measure against the incoming waves of pantheons, smaller mechaniloids and to stop the drill mechaniloid from piercing through their entire base.

Ciel kept looking at the images the soldiers had been able to take, they weren't much, but they were all they had, it was the most sturdy-looking piece of machinery she had seen as a threat, surpassing even the golems which none other than Zero could take head on. It was obvious that Zero had to be the one to stop it, but even he would get shredded to pieces if he got caught in any of its drills, a head-on assault was suicide, which only left them with one option:

“Everyone! Guard the front of our base at all costs! Zero! Go around and attack it from the rear... That should buy us some time...” Ciel told everyone. She was still unsure about the strength of her plan, but it was the only thing she could think of. She didn’t like it, putting Zero in harms way all on his own once again, she was about to withdraw her orders to him when the reploid spoke.

“I won’t let it get close to the base,” he told her in his same monotone voice, but there was something on his face that irradiated confidence, “If we are to put an end to Neo Arcadia’s persecution, you have to trust me.”

The perfect words for her troubled mind. She was still upset, but he was right, there was no other way, and with how things looked like, this would not be the only time he would pit himself against bigger and sturdier opponents. She could only trust him.

He was about to go to the Trans Server when she stopped him to tell him one last thing.

“You are our only hope... Good luck, Zero.”

He nodded in acknowledgment before rushing off, she could only see his back, and she prayed in order for her to be able to see him go back to them.

* * *

Zero was transfered behind the enemy lines with the same Trans Server that was located in the Disposal Center where he had previously fought Aztec Falcon, the building itself was still abandoned, all the noise that was present before was now absent.

Zero hurried to the main entrance of the factory, fortunately for him there was no sign of enemy reploids stationed on the factory, which unfortunately meant that this assault was definitely not holding anything back if they didn’t bother to regain a vantage point.

Once Zero reached the entrance he could perceive the sounds of all the drills from the giant mechaniloid destroying everything in his path, not only that, but he could also see the path it had already taken. The ground was utterly destroyed and all of the debris scattered around, Zero couldn’t help but feel a bit angry at the sight of that, even if the streets were abandoned and the buildings empty, they still gave hope to those who believed in the restoration of peace among humans and reploid.

“Our recon teams managed to identify and neutralize the jamming devices around the base. Someone somehow managed to get incredibly close without getting detected…”

The idea of someone being able to achieve such a thing worried Ciel beyond belief.

However, they had to worry about the most immediate danger.

“The giant Mechaniloid must be up ahead of you. Stay sharp, Zero...”

Ciel didn’t receive any response from him, but even then she knew he would do his best, he always did. There were very few things she could do in situations like this, even if she was the leader of the whole resistance. She had to direct and coordinate all of their forces for them to succeed, but it still made her feel like she didn’t do much. All she could do was pray, but that didn’t prevent her from always doing her best either.

While everyone had their hopes on Zero, they would still need to be ready just in case anything went wrong. Most of their forces were stationed in the main entrance to the base. Even if they were not able to destroy the giant mechaniloid, they could at least try to both wear it down and reduce their numbers. That being said, they were getting reports of more and more enemies showing up, the mechaniloid was getting closer and its main forces were already reaching them.

No one would mention it, but everyone knew that even a small amount of Pantheons could tear apart forces double or triple their size, even more. Everyone knew it but none of them abandoned their positions. The injured were piling up as their defenses were being pushed back by the enemy forces. It took at the very least three to four people to take down one Pantheon, fortunately for them, they hadn’t brought any golems with them, since Zero was the only one who had taken one down. 

All they could do was trust Zero.

* * *

Zero had his own issues to deal with. Despite being originally designed as a mining mechaniloid, it was now outfitted with plenty of means to defend itself from those who would interfere. This included launching mines in all directions preventing Zero from rushing it, launching aerial bombs to limit his aerial movement, deploying annoying Gli-Eyes to increase the chances of exploding with any of the aforementioned explosives, and if all else failed, a squad of pantheons ready to replace its defensive mechanisms.

Going left to right, jumping and falling, dashing and stepping back, Zero was by no means strained from such a measly workout, but it was proving to be annoying. He was chipping away the different parts the mechaniloid had, destroying them one by one. However, they were closing in to the base, if it had not been for the deafening noise the drills were making he could have heard the battle in the base’s entrance. His approach was not the fastest, but it was the safest, if he were to be damaged and another attack were to be made he wouldn’t have enough strength to counterattack, but time was running out, he might not leave unscathed but he didn’t want to take the chance.

* * *

They broke through.

Everyone was immediately ordered to retreat to the very entrance of the base in order to prepare for a final defense, if they could manage to create a bottleneck where they could all focus their fire and hopefully delay them as much as possible.

Those who were injured were the first ones to be transported inside the base, everyone else tried their best to cover their retreat, but having left their cover, they piled up many more injuries quicker while going back, which only reduced even more their firepower.

Ciel was forced to take shelter among the first group of people, she couldn’t be put into much more danger, but even when she was not able to see the struggle, the sounds were enough to drown every single thought she could have, even when thinking out loud. This was the second time the sturdy concrete walls of the base let the sounds go through, and it was worse than the first.

However, when everything was filled with gunshots, desperate screams and the sound of metal falling on top of each other,there was one more sound that was notorious for it’s sudden absence. 

The drills.

They had stopped.

It was a detail that crossed through everyone’s minds, and before anyone could begin to wonder what had happened, as if confirming their suspicions, an explosion could be heard in the distance.

The explosion shook everyone to the core. They knew what it meant, but the fact that no one had been contacted by Zero made them worry, but they could do nothing, they still needed to defend their base before their enemies breached it or it would all be in vain.

Fortunately for them, they had not been the only ones to notice the explosion. The pantheons, while not possessing their own will, stopped their assault briefly, as if they had been taken aback by the explosion and, suddenly, some of them starring retreating.

"They must have been ordered to retreat!" Ciel told everyone through their coms.

Sure enough, some of them were leaving the battlefield, but those that stayed still made sure to push the resistance forces enough to have them on edge. The giant mechaniloid might had been destroyed, but when it came to the pantheons that kept pushing, the difference in strength was still great. The casualties had been considerable and the injured kept having to retreat. Some of the first ones to be treated returned to the entrance to aid in the defense, even if their wounds were painfully hidden behind their bandages.

They couldn't hold it forever, and there was no sign of Zero. Ciel was getting anxious, desperately trying to reach him in some way. They had to withstand this attack or there would not be any other opportunity for them to oppose Neo Arcadia. Worst of all, if they couldn't, all of those gave their life for the cause would have died in vain. 

"They died because of you." 

The single thought of it made Ciel squirm. Could she handle it? What about all of those people that died right after abandoning Neo Arcadia? Those who died while looking for Zero? 

What if Zero himself was no longer with them? 

"Don't even think about it." 

The monotone ice-cold voice being transmitted to all of the members in the base suddenly breathed new life into the hearts of everyone that had even the slightest amount of anguish.

The pantheons that were entering the resistance base suddenly turned around to face their new foe. There were probably at least fifty of them gathering around the entrance, but they promptly exited as fast as they could when the next threat was assessed. 

"Everyone , get back inside and tend the injured!" His voice slightly painted with a feeling of worry. 

"I will take care of them" 

The resistance base was surely one of Neo Arcadia's most important targets without a doubt, but even them as a whole were regarded as a low-power threat, which is why they had left a small amount of pantheons to take care of the whole base even after the mechaniloid was destroyed. Zero, however, was probably their most important target at the time, and that became even more visible when those units that had been trying to leave the battlefield suddenly came back to face Zero. 

Their numbers were great, but it was clear that they had underestimated their opponent. Had they added units such as the golems to the fight, it would have been a much harder battle fro them to win, but it was clear that the main event had been the giant mechaniloid. With it gone, all that was left were some basic pantheons, and if Zero knew something, is that he could cut through them as if they were butter.

Of course they were many, but he didn't falter. While he had no recollection of it, he felt his body being used to dealing with large amounts of enemies, probably thousands in all the time he had been alive. He wanted to let Neo Arcadia know that they wouldn't be able to eradicate them that easily.

When he was done with all of their units, he certainly had accomplished this. 

When the dust finally settled, there was nothing but Zero standing in the field. Ciel had rushed over to the entrance when she was informed that the battle had finally ended.

There he was, as stoic as ever. The dust on him obscured his armor but it still shone brightly as the light of day bounced off him. He was clearly worn out, breathing hastily, irregularly, and some parts of his armor were clearly chipped out, burned and bashed. Yet he did not look tired this time. He could probably had confronted a thousand more enemies without breaking a sweat.

She knew that, but was still relieved when he turned to her and the gathering soldiers in the entrance.

“I think they will not bother us for a while.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a lot longer than expected for it's size, but I'm still struggling with action sections without having to skip totally over them. Fortunatelly I can keep working on the next sections where it picks up a bit more speed. Hopefully this time will be delivered in time.


	7. Idle Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having defended the base from an assault that would have destroyed their forces if it had managed to reach their base, Zero finds himself once again waiting on the maintenance room for his recovery to finish.  
> Fortunately for him, his wait is small and is made easier to go through thanks to some chatting.

The day after the battle against Neo Arcadia was a busy one. The base was bustling with activity since everyone had something to do from hauling, repairing, assessing damages or just bringing in supplies.

Even though many were lost and many more were injured, they still had to work their hardest to prevent even more suffering. One of the members that was unable to help around for the time being was Zero, and he loathed this fact. His injuries had been minor compared to previous ones, but both Ciel and Cerveau had insisted.

"What if something else happens? We need you to be ready as soon as possible."

That was the argument with which he had conceded to rest and go to maintenance to be repaired, but it still irked him greatly.

He wanted to help. Confirm for himself that everything was in order. Maybe even check how Ciel was doing. Despite having been able to repel the attack, they still lost a lot and she was prone to blame it on her if she could.

As legendary as he was, he could not wait faster, and he had to do it for another 2 days.

However, not all of them were as bad as the first. Fortunately for him, Cerveau would try to keep him company and would gladly inform him of the status of the base and Ciel's. Everything was going well and it looked like they would soon be fully operational again. The only apparent depressing event that went on was a small ceremony to mourn the dead, but even then it also steeled the determination of those who were still alive.

The only other big news that he received the second day involved the remains of the giant mechaniloid. Salvaging parties had managed to recover many useful parts that could be used to gather even more resources easily, the drills were, after all, the sturdiest part of the mechaniloid. 

"And on the topic of new developments" Cerveau, who was informing him of the previous fact, added, "I've managed to finish a couple new weapons for you!" he finished, showing the concepts of the weapons in his datapad. 

“I got this idea from the battle data you got from that elephant mechaniloid back in the laboratory Ciel found you. You are skillful enough to make the most out of your Z-Saber, but I feel that you lack some range other than your Buster, especially if there are enemies that prevent you from getting close to them. Thats why I thought of this spear-like weapon. While it is roughly the same length as your saber once powered on, it can extend itself about 2 more times before reaching maximum distance.”

Cerveau was clearly proud of his invention, and as such, he kept talking about it.

“My original idea involved several more extensions or at least allowing it to be segmented throughout its entire length, but we don’t really have the technology for me to do that, at least for now.” He said, with a bit of disappointment on his voice.

“My other project is a little bit simpler. It basically consists of a tiny gadget that is mounted on one of your forearms and that uses your saber to create a buckler-looking shield. It doesn’t protect you from most things other than bullets, but your previous injuries revealed that, while you are fast and agile, they can still chip away your armor little by little, so this should allow you to avoid unnecessary damage.”

Zero had only nodded or made different acknowledgment noises throughout Cerveau’s explanation. It had been a bit long but he was genuinely interested in trying out his new weapons. They were new tools that would assist him in accomplishing his missions and protect those around him.

Cerveau, having finished his explanation, proceeded to turn to the exit, he had also been waiting for his diagnostics to finish running.

“I would like to converse more, but I’m afraid that I’m needed elsewhere.” Said the engineer, waiting at the door. “You should be good to go the day after tomorrow,so be sure to rest.” He finished with a smile.

Zero hadn’t even closed his eyes again when Cerveau popped from the side of door before it started closing to tell him one last thing.

“Oh yeah! The shield I mentioned? It also has the possibility to throw your Z-Saber at high speeds while spinning, so, be sure to look forward to it, alright? Right.” He left as fast as he had popped up.

“He must be really proud of his inventions.” Zero thought to himself.

The rest of the day was uneventful, and he spent his time rest remembering his fight against the giant mechaniloid, trying to find things to improve against annoying opponents like that.

* * *

The second day arrived without any trouble, everything looked to be similar to how the previous 2 days had been until Ciel entered the room instead of Cerveau. 

"Oh, sorry, did I wake you up?" asked Ciel when she saw that Zero had his eyes open once she entered, even if she was unsure about whether or not Reploids from his generation "slept" as humans did. 

“I finally got some time to come down here and check up on you. How are you doing?” asked Ciel, visibly nervous.

The truth is that she had spent about 5 minutes outside the room deciding whether or not it was a good idea to disturb his rest. She already knew how he was doing from Cerveau’s report, but she still wanted to see him with her own eyes. She would not admit it, but she was still a bit scared from the time he passed out in front of her.

“Steadily recovering” Zero answered.

“Is that so? I’m happy to hear that.” Ciel sincerely added. “Have you been able to rest properly? Everything has been pretty active lately, and I guess that even with these walls you would be able to hear all the movement outside.”

Zero pondered on his answer for a while. He had been immobile for the most part and he would run his own “simulations” whenever he could. Did that count as rest? Probably, no energy was wasted and most of his body had recovered successfully thanks to the energy being directly transfered to him from E-Crystals.

“I guess so. All I’ve been doing is running some simulations.” He finally answered.

“Simulations?” Ciel asked, intrigued. Despite having found many tidbits of information about him, it was the first time she had heard about that.

“Probably not the correct term.” Zero explained. “I’m just trying to get the most out of my previous encounters.” He concluded.

“Really? How do you do that?” Ciel jumped at him, visibly excited at the thought of learning a bit from him.

Her enthusiasm surprised him, and also made him reconsider what he had been doing. It was true that he could to some degree “simulate” his own movements and his enemies just by closing his eyes and focusing, but he hadn’t actually given it thought. It was a natural ability for him ever since he woke up, even when that one golem that almost abducted Ciel perished by his hands. Having to put into words his little own “training grounds” was harder than he initially thought.

“I do not possess the ability to actually simulate complete scenarios as a computer could.” Zero started, trying to choose the correct words.

“What I tend to do is go over everything I observed on my encounters and the data gathered from them. I try to think about anything that my enemies did that could be useful for me to do, and then I focus on thinking in which situations it would work. Of course, right now I’m unable to move, but, oftentimes I’ll follow up with practical training to get my movements right.”

It was a short explanation, yet Ciel still listened carefully. She had expected something different, but this was probably even better for her curiosity, since she had wanted to know more about the abilities that a reploid in the same level as X had.

“So thats why…” Ciel mumbled to herself, getting lost in thought almost immediately.

Zero made an inquisitive sound regarding her whispering, which snapped the scientist back to reality.

“Oh! Sorry, Zero, it’s just that this explains some of the things that me and other people wondered about you before finding you.” She explained.

“According to what you told me, there was almost no information left regarding my existence.” He replied.

“That is right. Most people that had heard about you believed it was a legend. This is in part due to how X was still active, but you were nowhere to be seen.” Ciel explained. “X had always been known to be a very important and powerful hero even before the war. His ability to copy almost any power his foes had was widely known, referenced and even investigated to this day.”

“However,” she continued, “your records only mentioned your legendary battle prowess, but nothing else regarding combat capabilities, which only made people doubt that you could have stood side to side with X. Now that you are telling me this, it makes sense that you have, to some degree, another kind of learning power even if it is different from X’s.”

Zero listened to Ciel with intrigue. He did remember that X was someone he considered powerful, and his copying abilities did ring a bell or two in his mind. He had always thought that his own learning experience wasn’t anything too much out of the ordinary, but with Ciel’s explanation, it felt a bit encouraging to give his best to improve.

"You really are amazing, Zero. I wish I could learn as fast as you do." Ciel said, her voice lowering towards the end. "Maybe that way I could notice more things before they happen and avoid mistakes." 

Zero was a bit surprised by her desire. He knew that she was very smart and that she probably had a lot more knowledge in other departments than he did. After all, his ability to learn from his enemies had proven to be solely physical even if the theory behind his movements were complex. It was also clear that something was bothering her. 

"Is something the matter?" He asked. 

Ciel, noticing that she had slipped up, tried to hide her anguish. 

"O-oh, no, don't mind me. I'm just a bit tired and haven't been able to give my best to my research and to the Resistance's efforts." 

Zero, of course, knew this was a lie. 

"Ciel," he started, almost instinctively trying to put his hand on her shoulder, only to be prevented from doing so by being inside his recovery pod. "You do more than enough all the time. My battle prowess is very different from your intelligence when it comes to your research and your leadership. I was designed for combat, maybe even this skill of mine was planned. There is no reason why you should be the same”

Ciel wasn’t convinced, but she still felt a bit grateful for his words. She was aware that it was an issue that had been brought up previously, but at least being able to voice it lifted a bit of weight from her shoulders.

“Is there something else bothering you?” Zero asked, seeing how she felt uneasy about continuing the topic.

"Well, everything has been going smoothly. To be honest, what is worrying me the most is about the undetected units that had managed to jam our coms without us knowing. It really scares me." 

It was indeed something surprising for both of them. Zero himselft didn’t think it would be possible for him to be able to infiltrate the enemy’s base that easily, and even if they had a very significant gap between resources available, it was still a considerable feat to having gotten so close to the base without being detected.

The idea of someone being infiltrated on their forces crossed Zero’s mind, but it also went away easily as there would have been many more ways to let them open for an attack in which they would have been even more exposed.

“That is true,” Zero started, “but you can be sure that even if our enemies manage to get close, I won’t let them do as they please.”

They were few words, but the determination behind them was by no means small.

Surprisingly enough, both of them kept talking for a while more. It was pretty different from the way the soldiers in the base talked to each other, or even how Ciel and Alouette did. Both Ciel and Zero didn’t bother talking about things they both thought as superficial or unnecessary, but they exchanged some of their experiences and characteristics as part of trying to know more about each other. Ciel got to learn a bit more of Zero’s training regimen, how he usually maintained his armor and, oddly enough, about his hair.

Despite being slightly longer than Ciel’s, apparently he barely noticed it whenever he fought. His helmet would prevent it from obstructing his vision similar to how Ciel’s would let her ponytail through, and even if it could be a potential danger that could get him grabbed, being close enough to do that would give him the upper hand.

They both tried to think of a reason why he had been designed with such a long hair, specially when, as far as they knew, very few reploids from his time had visibly longer hair. Not even X had it.

Zero, on the other hand, learned that, despite the stress that it had brought her previously, researching was an activity that she enjoyed, specially wen her results could bring new opportunities to others. He also learned that, while they didn’t really had the chance to drink it, she really liked sweet variations of coffee, that both helped her be awake and that she could enjoy.

“By the way,” started Ciel. “I know that you are an older model, so, do you actually have a sense of taste?” she asked.

Zero stared the empty void that was in front of him trying to think. He really didn’t remember if he had eaten anything before his sealing, but so far he hadn’t tasted anything. As far as he knew, he only needed rest and energy to function.

“That is something I do not know.” He answered.

“Is that so?” Ciel smiled, clearly with something in mind. If that is the case, maybe we could try to eat something both of us!” she suggested, unaware of the usually normal implications of eating together.

“I-I mean!” She suddenly started, turning red again. “I would love to know what you can taste, if anything.” She explained.

Her embarrassed self was a sight that was becoming more and more usual in their interactions, and it had a certain charm. Maybe it was the constant exposure to that side of hers, but for a moment, Zero couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

Ciel herself was a bit surprised at seeing him smile, and that made her momentarily stop being embarrassed and just focused on his face.

He noticed and obliviously asked what was wrong, going back to his usual expression.

“Nothing.” She answered, feeling a bit relieved that she got to see something special.

They kept talking for a while more until Ciel was needed to check on some pending changes for the base. Zero patiently waited for his recovery to end and, fortunately for him, he was allowed to leave the next day, restarting his duties with a bit more optimism than before. Although now he was a bit curious about how things tasted.


	8. Icy Desert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After succesfully recovering from the drill mechaniloid raid, the base goes back to their normal activities, and as such, Zero has to once again go on a mission to rescue members of the resistance from a hidden base in the desert.
> 
> However, the scorching moving sands of it won't be the worst part of the mission.

Everything went back to normal in a matter of days. There were times were people would get startled by the sound of the reparations if someone was using a drill. Everyone in the base held a grudge against them after having witnessed the giant drilling mechaniloid, but it was also a matter of time before everyone settled down. The investigations regarding the intruders that managed to get so close to the base revealed little to nothing, other than it being the job of a very organized stealth unit. Some of the member constantly volunteered themselves to do regular checks all around the base, and some even asked Zero to do some exploration of their surroundings, since there were places that they couldn’t reach. Who would have guessed that being a legendary reploid brought, alongside other perks, the ability to wall-jump almost indefinitely? Regardless of that, it soon became part of their scouting missions. They wouldn’t allow another tragedy to happen again if they had any say in the matter.

Ciel went back to tirelessly monitor and research the movements of Neo Arcadia, so much so that Zero had to pay her a visit a couple times, always resulting in a one-sided argument on the various reasons why sleep wasn’t as necessary for her, ending up in being lifted and carefully dropped in bed. She eventually learned that he had a “Time to sleep” face that would easily be disregarded as his usual stoic expression to less experienced people. This revelation was surprising on its own, and Ciel felt a little proud for being able to differentiate between them, even if the conditions for doing so where less than ideal.

Zero, on the other hand, spent mos of his free time practicing with his new weapons. The spear-like weapon he had received was pretty difficult to put into practice, since most things it could do were things his Z saber could also do, perhaps if Cerveau were to eventually be able to upgrade it as he originally intended, it would become better. The shield, on the other hand, was a pretty curious one. It’s most effective usage was, after all, protecting him from bullets that were aimed at him, there was no doubt that not even one would hit Zero as long as he was behind the shield. At one point, Zero asked some of the other members to shoot at him from various angles, even if most of them felt that it was incredibly wrong, which made sure that the experiment never got repeated, specially once Ciel heard of it. However, that was not all it could do. The throwing function it also had was interesting, to say the least. It would always return back to him, and Zero’s only job was to catch it. He had, however, some concerns, if he were to not be able to catch it, would it go through him? According to Cerveau, it wouldn’t, but it still lingered on his mind enough to always be focused whenever he threw it. 

Everything kept going like this for a few days. While it was peaceful, it was also a bit unsettling, since it felt as if Neo Arcadia was taking more time to plan their next attack, having learned that they would not go down without a fight. Fortunately, this fact also made Ciel double her efforts on finding anything that could give them some insight on their plans, which in turn revealed crucial information about a hidden base in the desert that also held some reploids captive. 

It was once again Zero’s turn to shine.

* * *

“We have received information that there is a Neo Arcadian hidden base somewhere in the desert, and that they are holding Reploids in it... We have been trying to locate it so you can head there directly, but... If Reploids are being held there, we must save them as soon as possible...”

Ciel at this point had already asked Zero for help several times, but her worries about putting him in danger had not lowered. However, she was doing her best to try and trust him more in these cases.

“The desert? Must be underground if that is the case. Any ideas where I could start looking?”

“Our reports indicated that it was not so far away from the time you had to rescue some of our comrades from the fallen aircraft, but I wasn’t able to pinpoint an exact location, however, we can imagine that the entrance will be guarded. I’m sorry I can’t give you anything else to go by.”

“It’s fine. I just have to find an entrance and make my way through it.”

Zero prepared himself for the trip to the desert. The heat didn’t bother him that much, but it was still a place where he had to take some extra measures to ensure that nothing bad happened. Once he finished, he teleported himself to the closest point to the desert, where he began his search.

* * *

It took him a while to finally reach a point where he was able to see some kind of patrol. There were a couple Quicksand Mixers on his way trying to trap him in quicksand to slowly bring him to them, getting too close was a really bad idea, but they weren't tough enough to be able to withstand Zero's throwable shield. At some point, defeating one of them revealed an underground passage that was being concealed by both the Mixer and all the sand pouring down. Zero had to wait for a second to avoid getting buried, but it was worth it since it even functioned as a floor to stand on without having to fall a long distance. He was then greeted by a laser gate that would prevent him from going forward, but fortunately for him, Ciel was watching and offered her help.

“Wait a minute, I'll disarm it!”

It didn’t even take a minute for the skillful scientist to deactivate the gate.

“OK! You can proceed!” she told Zero cheerfully. She greatly enjoyed being helpful.

“Thank you.”

The brief response of the reploid made her smile.

Zero was well aware that there were some things that he couldn’t do, and it was at times like these were he was grateful, even if just slightly, for having someone watching out for him. It was also weird, since that sensation was also a bit familiar, but he did not dawdle on the thought.

Once the lasers were deactivated, Zero began to look for the cells in which their comrades were being kept. The way down was rough and it made little to no sense, since it was filled with traps trying to get rid of anything that would dare enter, even if it was already hard to enter on its own. Zero had to carefully slide down walls and jump over spikes that would otherwise prove to be fatal. 

"Please be careful, Zero. We do not know for certain, but there were rumors about X being vulnerable to spikes in the past. I do not know if that applies to you too or if they are even true but... Please, take care." 

Zero knew that rumors were not trustworthy most of times, but even then, he couldn't help but feel that those in specific held a bit of the truth.

"I'll be careful." he answered, doing his best not to inquire more about the rumors. 

Having two pairs of eyes to look out for things was very helpful at times. Ciel would monitor his status at almost all times. Zero's missions were far more complicated and hard than the ones other members had, which is why she wanted to be there at all times in the case something happened. Sometimes she would be able to see directly through Zero's feed, if the connection was good enough. However, only the audio would come through most of the times. Ciel was able to see some of the way down since the desert was relatively close to the base, but the feed didn't last long. At times like these, the silence from Zero was worrying even if she knew that he would be fine, with only the sound of his enemies being defeated as the confirmation of his wellbeing or, in this case, the sound of him constantly jumping and landing. Fortunately for her, he spoke first this time.

“There is a frozen lake inside this cave.” Zero reported, carefully landing on the ice that covered all of the water he could see.

“A frozen lake? Is there anything in or on it?”

“I can’t see anything in the ice. But there are construction beams almost everywhere on the cave. I can also see a ladder leading to another zone of the base. I’ll be sure to gather as much data as I can for you later.”

“I would greatly appreciate that.Thank you, Zero.”

The ladder led Zero to an spacious area that only had a big door blocking his way.

“Ciel, I think I found the hidden base, but there is a door blocking my way, can you do something about it?”

“Wait for a minute, and I'll unlock the door for you.” Said Ciel, trying to get it open as fast as possible.

"It's unlocked. Stay alert. It was far more difficult than the laser gate." 

The opened room appeared to be a very small room, with nothing but a ladder going upwards leading to hallway that had multiple extra ladders going both a floor above and below. However, the most alarming sight was the presence of pantheons patrolling. These pantheons were slightly different from those that he had battled before, and it mostly came down to their "eyeball", which shone brighter than the usual and a slight change in color. Zero remembered the cameras he had seen previously and recognized the sensors they were using to scan their surroundings, even if he was not sure, he believed that being caught by any of them would compromise his mission and the lives of those he came to rescue. 

"I’m starting the infiltration to the cells. I'll keep you informed when I make progress but until then maintain radio silence." 

Ciel nodded out of habit even if he couldn't see her. 

Even when he appeared to be so light due to his nimbleness, Zero, as most other reploid from his generation, was quite heavy, which usually translated in them being pretty bad at sneaking around. However, Zero was one of the exceptions, having enough control of his body to maintain his movements as silent as a mouse's. The silence carried an intense feeling of anxiety that was only boosted by the pitch-black screen that Ciel had to stare at from the moment the video feed was lost. Sometimes the only indication that Zero was still transmitting, other than the screen stating that he was online, were the sounds that the pantheon patrols made when getting close to his hiding spot. Little by little he made his way into the different cells that held his comrades captive, making sure to get them all out before they would try to storm the exit, since trying to sneak out with such a large group would be incredibly difficult, specially without extra weapons.

At some point on his search, Zero came across a hidden door at the end of the corridor. It was bigger than the one he had previously gone through and definitely sturdier.

“There is another locked door in front of me, Ciel. It looks far more reinforced than the last one. Can you open it?”

“I noticed, there are weird signals coming from the other side of it, but it’s too well protected. I would need more time to open it. Sorry.”

“I’ll be on my way then. Don’t worry about it, right now our mission is to get everyone out of here.”

Once Zero reunited with all of the soldiers that were waiting for him in one of the cell rooms, they started going towards what the others identified as the Hangar, since they had been delivered from there.

“Please, Zero, be careful.” Said Ciel once he had informed everyone of the plans for escaping.

Zero was the only one that could successfully confront the pantheons. Everyone sticked as close as they could to him while he tried to make sure to defeat them before they could activate the alarms. He was able to do so all the way to the middle of the hallway, but the rest of the pantheons eventually turned around and spotted him before he could reach them, forcing them to hurry up even more. The result of the alarm presented itself as a couple of pantheon warriors that charged him and the soldiers to try and stop them.

They were quick, and under normal circumstances he would be able to take them down easily, but he wasn’t alone, so he wasn’t able to just evade them and let their charge carry them against a wall. This forced Zero to get close and personal with them, even if their giant right arms were dangerous.

Once again, Zero’s physique would lead anyone to believe that the reploid’s only strength was his agility. However, even if he was weaker than other models, his strength was still nothing to laugh about. His Z saber was able to cut through their arms, but the speed they had wouldn’t allow him to do enough slashes to finish them off, which is why he had to use his hands this time. 

Zero dashed towards the first charging warrior, intending to intercept him. He used the pantheon’s own speed to grab his arm and spin around with him to throw it back to the other warrior whose charge forced the thrown pantheon to suddenly stop, destroying it on the process and slowing the second one enough for Zero to flank it and finish it off with his Z saber.

The soldiers that were following him would have stopped to process what just happened if they had not been in such a hurry, and they refocused once Zero ordered them to rush before more warriors arrived. Fortunately for everyone, the alarm had a cooldown long enough for Zero to finish off the rest of patrolling pantheons, allowing them to arrive at the Hangar’s door and exit safely.

However, they couldn’t relax yet, since on the other side of the door another danger waited for them.

Zero had entered the Hangar first, and once he noticed the enemy in front of him, he prevented the others to enter, pushing them back into the now empty hallway and closing the door.

“Ciel, lock the Hangar door behind me until I’m done. We have an uninvited guest.”

“Hey! That’s MY line!”

The deep raspy voice that greeted him belonged to a Mutos Reploid that resembled a stag, whose horns were made out of ice spikes.

“You must be Zero! You have done well to make it this far, but this is where your journey ends! I’m Blizzack Staggroff, the best warrior of Leviathan, The Guardian!”

“And an annoyance to listen to too.” Answered Zero, quickly loading his weapons with the fire chip he had obtained back on his quest marathon.

Staggroff wasn’t as agile as Zero, but he was able to jump great distances, constantly trying to catch Zero off-guard whenever he had to deal hit Staggroff’s horn missiles or his impaired movement due to his freezing Blizzard. Zero would oftentimes get grazed by the missiles and get punched around whenever he was nearly frozen. However, the fire chip on his possession allowed him to quickly deal great amounts of damage to Staggroff and get rid of his frostbite as well as his foe’s ice horns. As it was usual, Zero quickly adapted to his enemy’s patterns and managed to gain the upper hand, using the moments when his foe was using his arm’s turbines to try and freeze him to quickly get behind him by wall-jumping off of a wall and deal the killing blow that split him into two, his preferred way of finishing off enemies.

The battle had lasted less than 15 minutes, but for the soldiers waiting for him it felt like an eternity, never knowing if any other enemies would arrive at the hallway, which is why they almost exploded from joy when the Hangar door opened once again with Zero behind it, his armor visibly scratched and chipped off from the freezing cold.

Once he had answered their concerns for his wellbeing, they started moving again to leave the place. Zero got the ice chip from Stagroff’s remains, his hands still a little cold from his battle.

“Zero, are you OK? Can you get here safely?” asked Ciel, the only thing she had heard were the sounds of turbines, ice cracking and Zero’s slashes before he asked her to open the door again.

“I’m fine. Yes. We will arrive to base shortly. Don’t worry.” He answered, clearly annoyed.

“Did something happen?”

“I think I hate the ice more than the sand now.” He answered, before grouping with the others once again and going home.

Ciel couldn’t help giggle a little, hoping that he hadn’t heard her, but she was glad that he was fine enough to make those remarks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try to tackle more mission chapters the same way I did this one, just so I don't always skip over them. I do believe that the next games will be easier to write about since they feel a bit more developed, but for now I hope the next chapters are still good to read.


	9. Newfound Foes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Resistance is slowly but surely gaining more and more strength. However, this comes at a price. The attention they have unwillingly attracted will prove to be one of their most formidable foes yet, and will keep interferring with their plans for a very long time.  
> However, some secrets lie with them. Secrets that will encourage Zero to interact with them further.

“Zero! Are you alright?”

Ciel’s words had successfully reached the legendary reploid, but he was too busy holding on to the edge of one of the still stable subway rails to be able to answer immediately.

Despite being a subway, the section Zero was traversing dangerously elevated over the ground. Falling could prove to be fatal, or at least really unpleasant, and a huge waste of time. However, the idea itself didn’t scare Zero as much as it would others. He could probably survive the fall, but something about heights stirred something inside him that made him uncomfortable, which is why he tried identifying the reason while staring at the long fall in front of him, but nothing came up.

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” He answered Ciel, finally pulling himself up back to the rails.

“Thank God, please be careful. Even though the whole subway network stopped working a long time ago, a lot of it’s structure is in very bad conditions and they will collapse with your added weight on top of them.”

“I know. At least we can be sure that Colbor’s team did not fall.”

“Yes… Again, I’m really sorry for this, Zero. Colbor couldn’t help but feel like we are relying too much on you, and when his team found a way into the enemy’s base he couldn’t help but want to be useful. I’m sorry…”

The rest after having arrived from the desert had to be set aside. Zero had been informed about Colbor’s situation the moment he arrived back at the base, and he chose to go search for them immediately to increase the odds of finding them alive. However, the amount of enemies he had found in the whole subway so far didn’t bode well for the possibility.

Being so high up had its own perks. Zero was able to see the far reaches of the city and beyond. The scenery was grim up close, but, as the city got further and further away, the silhouettes of the buildings in the distance allowed Ciel, watching through Zero’s feed, to reimagine the world in front of them as a peaceful and lasting civilization.

“I really want everyone to be able to enjoy their life without having to struggle each day.” Said Ciel, caught up in the moment.

Zero didn’t answer. He was also studying the landscape, but his reasons were very different from Ciel’s. The destruction didn’t move him as it did to Ciel, but the familiarity found in it still captivated him. He could easily tell the difference between the places that had witnessed gruesome battles and those where time had taken its toll, even if both of them were a mess filled with rubble, cracked concrete, buildings in the process of falling over, etc. These observations were brief, as Flyer Pantheons started arriving once again. Zero was clearly at a disadvantage. The platforms in which he was able to land were small and, in many cases, not stable enough to support Zero for long before collapsing, all of this while being constantly swarmed by flying enemies that would also always try to knock him out mid-air whenever he jumped from one platform to another, making everything all the more annoying.

However, the annoyances didn't last long, as it was quickly overtaken by urgency when Zero spotted a cruel scene. There were at least half a dozen bodies laying around in one of the platforms ahead of him, all of them outfitted with the green and yellow uniform that the resistance members used. None of them moved, and it was very obvious that they would never do so again. The only ray of hope both Zero and Ciel clung to was a single soldier standing in the middle of the platform, shaking and on the verge of collapsing from the fear of facing an invincible foe, who was about to descend from the sky to end his prey, until an emerald disk crossed his path, forcing him to pull back and land back to the platform.

"Run! Now!" Zero shouted, instantly transforming his shield back into his signature sword. 

“You must be Zero. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Harpuia, one of the four Guardians of master X.” 

The flying reploid stood out like a sore thumb due to his vibrant green attire. His helmet had two wing-shaped extensions that caught Zero and Ciel’s attention. Most importantly, his armor had an “X” embedded into it, further proving that his claims were true.

“Should I know you?” 

“Unnecessary. I’ve come here to put an end to you and your antics. You caused quite the tumult when our efforts to eradicate you lot failed. Such foolish behavior for a legendary hero to side with Mavericks...”

“I don’t remember ever choosing to be called a “hero”. Whoever led you to believe you knew where my allegiances laid is certainly a fool.” Zero answered, never dropping his guard.

Harpuia’s face tensed after hearing Zero’s words, the calm and collected image that he was portraying was let down instantly. “You shall repent and atone for your sins, Zero!”

The green reploid once again activated both his blades and quickly jumped back to the air. The clear skies that had previously allowed to appreciate the landscape were now filled with storm clouds accompanying the darkness that now surrounded the area. Zero didn’t waver and readied himself to deal with the aerial threat.

* * *

The implacable wind and murderous electricity that had dominated their small battlefield finally came to and end after Zero, having invaded Harpuia’s comfort zone in the air, connected a final Z-Saber slash that forced him to land, incapable of maintaining his flight.

“Guh!… It looks like I… underestimated you… I will have revenge someday!”

Harpuia spent no more time talking and teleported himself away before Zero could make another move. Zero, however, felt lucky, as he was also barely standing. The marks left on his body armor were even heavier than the time he battled the drill mechaniloid. Harpuia’s Sonic Booms, Plasma Bits and slashes had been aimed at Zero’s lower body, as evidenced by his oil slowly dripping to the floor, in order to slow him down, but the legendary reploid always managed to match his speed and avoid most lethal strikes. However, the electricity that managed to hit him had almost completely depleted his energy reserves, and was in dire need of a refill before passing out.

“I’m pulling you back, Zero! Cerveau is already waiting for you on the engine room and we dispatched some people to bring Colbor safe. Please, just hold on a bit longer…”

Surely enough, Zero was also teleported back to his base, where he was given some energy to keep him awake and then directed towards the engine room with Cerveau. Ciel was accompanying him in case something happened, even though she wouldn’t be able to lift him if he were to fall, but she still wished to at least see him reach the engine room. 

Zero also wanted her to tag along. He felt slow and heavy, but he was learning where his limits where and slowly pushing them further and further away. There was something in his mind he wanted to ask her once he was inside his maintenance pod, and so he waited until they reached the room’s entrance before asking Ciel to stay with him, much to her surprise.

“I want to ask you something, if you have time.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if we talked after you recover?”

“I would prefer to talk right now.”

Ciel turned to Cerveau who was setting everything up, expecting him to decide.

“He seems to be stable enough. Give me half an hour to address the internal damage enough to be out of danger and he’s all yours.” Said Cerveau, getting ready to start. 

Ciel knew a great deal about reploids, and assisted Cerveau on Zero’s repairs, speeding up the process. 

There had always been something weird about handling Reploid reparations on Ciel’s mind. She always knew that reploids were vastly different when it came down to how they worked, but taking them apart was still felt odd. There had been many changes and adaptations that were made in all the centuries that they existed, and the more time that happened, the more human-like they looked. Of course, to her both humans and reploids were people, but at moments like these ones the unavoidable gaps between them just grew. Zero’s body was soft to the touch, the same one would expect from touching a human, but upon inspecting his wounds, she could notice just how much more sturdy he was than any human, given the fact that any of those injuries would inflict more damage to them than something that could be solved in less than an hour.

“So… what is it?” Ciel asked, once they had finished their reparations.

“Tell me more about those Guardians Harpuia mentioned. Why would X need Guardians?”

“Ah… they…” Ciel hesitated a little as she fidgeted with her hands.

“It’s not like X actually need people protecting him. They used to have a different purpose, though.” Cerveau intervened.

“Y-Yeah. They are reploids that were originally created to, among other things, help humans survive in the case something threatened to wipe humanity.”

“Threatening humanity? Like what?”

“Well, it is true that it’s been a long time since anything threatened the peace we had, but even so, they were created to work with X in taking care of everyone. They will obey any and all commands that his master gives them.”

“Harpuia also mentioned that he was one of four total guardians. Where are the other three?”

“I doubt anyone outside of X knows. They were previously scattered, but ever since we rose up against them they came back to Neo Arcadia ro receive X’s orders. But this is the first time we actually have dealt with one so directly. However, Harpuia is the leader of the four. I’m afraid that we will be targeted even more now that you defeated him.”

“Do you have any information that could help me deal with them in the future?”

“Unfortunately, no. As I said before, they were scattered before, so we only knew about them what they told us since it hasn’t been that long since they were created, and that was just that they would protect us.”

Zero remained in silence for a while. His encounter with Harpuia had felt somewhat… familiar. However, it was impossible for him o have met him before since they were made while he was sealed away. “I’ll have to meet the other three.” He thought.

“Do you… need anything else?” Ciel asked, unsure if her answers were unsatisfactory.

“No. Keep me updated if anything else happens.”

Ciel nodded and approached the exit. She needed to go back to the command room to sort out other things, as well as trying to find more information about the guardians.

“Get well soon.” She said while leaving the room.

* * *

Zero recovered quickly after the exchange. The people in the base came to admire him even more now that word was spreading about having defeated a Guardian, specially from Colbor’s account, as he had partially seen the reploid’s power firsthand. The strengthened feeling of unity allowed them to stand strong, as it quickly became obvious that Harpuia’s defeat dealt a great blow against their reputation, which only made Neo Arcadia’s attempts at exterminating them stronger.

Zero’s desire to meet with the rest of the Guardians was going to be granted sooner than he had thought. Unbeknownst to him, having defeated Harpuia made the three others hold him as his primary target, for different reasons, but primary regardless.

The second one to have a match against Zero was a much livelier one compared to Harpuia.

The reploid in front of him was even redder than Zero. Having come out from a helicopter after having all of his troops pushed back singlehandedly by Zero, the bulky red reploid was itching for a fight with the source of of his problems.

“I heard there's a highly skilled Reploid in the Resistance... But I never expected you to be this good...”

The great cannon he held on his right hand was intimidating, and as evidenced by his armor, he was definitely a foe that was made to tackle all of his problems head on. He didn’t had the same “X” symbol embedded on his armor, but it was clear that his allegiances laid in the same place as Harpuia’s.

Waving his cannon at Zero, the reploid finally introduced himself.

“My name is Fefnir, one of the four Guardians of master X! Now don't let me down, kid!!” 

The scorching heat of the desert paled in comparison with the heat Fefnir’s shots emanated. He wasn’t as fast or mobile as Harpuia, but every one of his attacks carried a great amount of power or strength behind them. Despite having a very powerful ranged weapon, battling him up close was equally difficult, since his raw strength was probably on par with Zero’s. 

However, the one that ended up resting on the sand ended up being him. His own crazed battle method worked perfectly to erase a large number of enemy forces or to take down a single larger unit, but it was useless against someone that could keep up with his movements for extended periods of time, leaving Fefnir slowly tiring himself out, allowing Zero gain the upper hand.

“Puff... Puff... I have never been so excited... I'll let you live for a little longer. Make sure that you do not lose before I fight you again! Farewell!!” 

Fefnir went away as fast as he had arrived, with the exception of having no helicopter this time. The rest of the troops that stayed scattered while trying to flee back to Neo Arcadia, but they were easy pickings for Zero. Having battled Harpuia had taught Zero to be extremely careful around the Guardians, and the difference between his injuries now and then proved just how much that could change.

Unfortunately for Zero, these encounters weren’t as informative as he had hoped, and the next two would be the same.

Or at least, that’s how it went on his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than expected again. I really had troubles with choosing how to tackle the first encounter with the guardians, and I eventually settled with this. Now, while the last two weren't explicitely shown, this allows me to do something a bit different in the next chapter, which will have a bit of a change in POV. I hope to finish next one faster than usual to compensate for this one.


	10. The Lows of those Above

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero had managed to defeat Neo Arcadia's Guardians one after the other, making everyone in the Resistance celebrate and feel much more confident. Their chances of winning increased more and more.
> 
> However, what was happening to those who were defeated? Even the antagonists have their reasons.

“Dammit! I can’t believe I lost to that old-timer!” said Fefnir, doing everything in his power to not blow a hole in the wall with Sodom.

“I thought you said that you would ‘blow him to pieces so much that he becomes one with the sand’” answered Leviathan, imitating Fefnir’s gestures when he said that.

“Shut it! You didn’t fare any better even though you battled him in your element.”

“Well, unlike you, I’m not upset because I didn’t expect to mop the floor with him. I tried my best and I know that next time we meet will be different.” Said Leviathan while gently floating on the small “pool” the room had.

“We were informed that there was a chance for a very skilled reploid to be our enemy. Even Harpuia had to flee his encounter with him. We had enough reasons to be cautious and prepare ourselves, we owe our defeat to our mistakes.”

Phantom was also in the room, tucked into the darkest corner of the room where the light coming in from the windows could not reach him. It was fitting for his character and occupation, but it also allowed him to avoid being in the spotlight, specially when all of them had failed to accomplish the mission that their Master had assigned them.

“Tch. Whatever. Next time that Zero won’t be so lucky.”

The three Guardians were waiting for his leader to arrive. All of their attempts at snuffing out the Resistance had been all dismantled in front of their eyes by the same reploid over and over again. However, not all of them felt the same way. While all of them tasted defeat, the aftertaste that was left varied between reploid.

Harpuia was the one who probably took the deepest blow. He had been sent to deal with the intruders that were trying to circumvent their security to infiltrate Neo Arcadia, and while he had successfully eradicated almost all of the unit, Zero had beaten him while being at a disadvantage, with which Harpuia could only barely lead the battle to a draw. He was the leader of the Guardians and someone everyone in Neo Arcadia looked up to, having been so arrogant and defeated as consequence made him feel that everyone that now turned to see him would always see that stain on him.

Fefnir’s defeat had been absolute since he failed to bring Zero to a critical state as Harpuia did. Not only that, but virtually every other unit that he commanded was wiped out without even coming close to infiltrating the Resistance’s base. He knew that he had been hasty, but after having poked fun at Harpuia for losing against the Resistance, he was eager to prove himself to his peers and X. The only reason why he felt better, despite his temper being so volatile, resided in having found a new rival to crush in the future. All of the Guardians were reploids that were basically unchallenged by any threat, and Fefnir had longed for some action for quite some time by now. His pride was hurt, but his body ached with the desire of a rematch.

His companions always struggled with trying to understand how Phantom felt at any and all times. He was succinct most of the times, and when he wasn’t he would envelop his words with mysteries and darkness that would make them either dismiss him or just nod along. His defeat did not weigh heavily on him, for he knew that this was only a sign that there was room for him to improve. However, as it was the case with everyone in the Guardians, having failed an assignment from X hurt deeper than their injuries.

Finally, Leviathan. Despite poking fun a Fefnir, she also felt frustrated with her results. Not only she lost, but Zero had spared her against her will. She wasn’t as obsessed with fights as Fefnir was, but being shown mercy felt like she was being mocked, if not by Zero, by herself for not being strong enough. She wanted a rematch to settle things and prove that she was as strong as she was reliable.

However, the crimson reploid would never allow them to defeat him without a beating, since each time they battled, they would only make each other stronger.

* * *

Harpuia was returning from assessing the Resistance’s progress. It had been embarrassingly frustrating for him to see them slowly crawl their way out of the position they were in some time ago. He had to go deliver the news to his master, and await for further instructions, as well as a punishment for not being able to take down Zero. 

Neo Arcadia was a vast city filled with life and hope. All of the dangers from the outside were almost myths to those who under the protection of its dome. Civilization was preserved in a very fragile order akin to a motionless snow globe, but its peace, like its environment, was artificial. All of the Guardians knew that ever since X had “changed” things were a lot busier than usual. Reploids were being retired at a rate that was never seen before, passing judgments down quickly and without much consideration. They would never admit it, but the way they did things made them uneasy, but not to a point where they would ever decide to stop, since they all knew that only by following X would they be able to accomplish their main objective: protecting the humans.

This city which contained the slowly whithering hope for peace between humans and reploids laid under Harpuia’s wings. It was a long place to traverse even with the ability to fly, but fortunately for him, he would reach his destination soon, where his comrades were waiting for him.

“What took you so long? Did you want to hide your face?” Fefnir said once his superior arrived.

Harpuia didn’t answer his aggression, and instead addressed his team as a whole.

“I finished scouting all the places that were under our protection before our confrontations with Zero.” He started, stopping himself before saying more, “we need to report this to Master X.”

No one said anything more, they all just started walking towards the exit of their room, trying to hide their frustration.

* * *

“The results of your confrontations are… disappointing. But there is nothing we can do about that. Harpuia,your report.”

Standing up, Harpuia proceeded to explain the Resistance’s situation.

“I managed to monitor their movements as ordered. They began expanding to our previously occupied positions as expected. Their defenses have not lowered, but they have noticeable less units in charge of them while they finish scavenging and capturing more places. I do believe that with some preparation we can take them by surprise and finish them off.”

His master only looked at him, considering his options.

“Phantom, how is the assignment I gave you going?” he asked next, allowing Harpuia to step back.

“They have indeed strengthened their defenses ever since the last time we tried to destroy their base. However, it shouldn’t be too difficult for my subordinates to infiltrate their base if there is something keeping them occupied elsewhere.”

“Thats perfect, then,” His master added “We can finally put an end to their games.”

His eerie smile drew the attention of his Guardians who, despite wanting to get back at Zero and the Resistance for opposing them, couldn’t help but feel… threatened by his Master’s smile. A lot had changed in a very short amount of time, and even when they devoted their entire lives to protecting the humans and their master, they couldn’t help but feel conflicted, not about their methods, but about how their superior had changed so much.

But they could only wait and obey.

“Gather your troops and be ready to depart when I give the word. Shadow, make sure your subordinates make it into their base the moment we start the assault. We underestimated them last time, but now we know what we are up against. Force him to strain him, do not let him rest.”

“Of course, Master X.” They all said in unison before going back to prepare.

No one said a thing on their way back, and once they had exited the place, all of them separated to give the word to their own troops.

Everyone had it’s assignments. Fefnir led the Scorched Earth Squadron, the go-to option for Neo Arcadia when there was an objective that was needed to be conquered or exterminated. It’s troops were vastly superior to those on the other squadrons in terms of raw strength, but due to Zero having terminated both Necromances and Magnion, members of the army,it’s strength was far below the usual. Even so, Fefnir made sure to prepare his troops as much as possible,since they were gonna be the head of the operation as always.

Supporting them were Harpuia’s Strong Air Battalion, which was going through a similar situation as Fefnir’s. However, since they were mostly gonna rely on Fefnir’s team to receive the brunt of the Resistance, they would not be so seriously penalized by their lowered numbers. Despite their leaders not being on the most friendly terms, both their squadrons worked the best when they were together.

Despite Leviathan’s eagerness to get into challenges, her Deep Sea Squadron was rarely needed to get into fighting, specially since it worked best in the sea’s waters. It still played a vital role, since it was also the Squadron that was in charge of handling the information going in and out of Neo Arcadia. Thanks to their previous hacking attempts they had vital knowledge about the Resistance’s layout and how to hit them were it hurt, resembling its leader’s vicious tendencies in battle.

Finally, the ever so mysterious Cutting Shadow Squadron had one of the most important roles in the assault, making sure that the Resistance had no energy with which to fight back. Phantom and his squadron had already approached the Resistance’s base previously back when the Drill Mechaniloid threatened their base, but this time they had to go even deeper. Despite the Squadron being focused on stealth, entering the base all at the same time would have been an issue, which is why Phantom selected his subordinate Hanumachine with the task of destroying the Resistance’s Energy Crystals.

* * *

It took some time to finish the preparations, but by the end of the week everyone was ready. They were all waiting for X’s orders before attacking. Fefnir had been training almost all day long every day. Phantom was rarely seen, even less than usual, due to preparing Hanumachine for his infiltration. Harpuia trained and kept scouting and Leviathan honed her underwater movement as well as making sure that everything on their side was ready to go at a moment’s notice.

“Do you think that we will go soon?” Leviathan asked, startling Harpuia, who had been looking at Neo Arcadia’s landscape for a while.

“Perhaps. Regardless of that, we must be always ready for anything”

“I know, I know. I just can’t wait to meet that Zero again!”

“Really? Aren’t you a bit too focused on him?”

“Ha! Have you seen Fefnir? That big red idiot can’t stop babbling about how much he is gonna crush him in battle. I like challenges, we had never seen someone that could take on all of us.”

“We must not underestimate him. Them.”

“You on the other side don’t look like you want to do this. Is our grand stubborn leader having second thoughts perhaps?”

“I will do what Master X orders us to do. If he considers the elimination of the Resistance as a threat to what we have built, I trust him.”

“Buuuuut?”

“There are no ‘but’s. We exist solely for protecting the humans and that we will do.”

“Hmph. Boooooring~” Leviathan left Harpuia alone once again, thinking about who to pay a visit next.

There wasn’t much more for them to do other than wait. They did not need to struggle to survive on the scale the Resistance was. The humans below them were living peacefully, only afraid of the threat that the exterior posed to them. The reploids that were still alive with them tried their best to not pay attention to the hardships that their kind was going through. 

Despite being the Guardians, the reploid squad rarely had things to worry about that forced them to take an active role in something. Maybe that was part of the reason why both Fefnir and Leviathan were looking forward to their battles a little bit too much, no one really knew outside of themselves. 

Which is why being retired from their next assault came as a surprise for all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay once again. This time I occupied myself by practicing some pixelart, but at least if everything goes well I can maybe later introduce some images too.


End file.
